Naruto:The Voyage
by Trane7
Summary: The Shinobi Nations have earned their right to the Stars and it is with this right that an Uzumaki was to pilot one of the most advance starships into the unknown regions. This Uzumaki shall lead his crew to victory and to death but he will not falter nor will he bow for he was an Uzumaki. No Naruto/ Chakra Advance Shinobi/ Might be Multi-Crossover but must be suggested. R&R
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuh I own nothing Huhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhuhh

The skies of the elemental nations were as bright and beautiful as one may find, it was dotted with white clouds that spread onwards over the land sinning it in its web of perfection. It was amidst this picturesque view that one Keitaro Uzumaki was staring at. He had the largest grin one would have ever seen as he dusted off whatever microscopic speck that had taken residence on his white officer dress.

The Uzumaki had the brightest twinkle in his violet eyes with neatly combed striking red hair. Keitaro was literally bouncing with excitement. "Keitaro please stop looking yourself over its so weird" The male turned to give his sister an annoyed huff.

"Whatever Honoka but when I'm famous you'll be rendered speechless" His younger sister Honoka giggled to herself. She had blue cerulean eyes with the same bright crimson hair he did, two bangs framed her face with a third that went down her middle. She was wearing a form-fitting blue dress with orange accents on the side.

"Yes, Yes my older brother Keitaro the masterful captain of his ship" She gave him a knowing smile while striding past the space between them, "But you'll always be my family" She hugged his arm tightly, eyebrows creased together as her blue eyes began drenched in worry.

Keitaro rolled his eyes before sighing in exasperation, "I'll be fine Honoka, you don't need to worry!"

But that didn't seem to drop the matter for her as her grip tightened to near unbearable proportions, "I'm your sister, it's my job to worry, especially when you're all I have left" There was a brief well of tears that gathered at the peak of her eyes before she forced them back, "But I'm taking your time, the ceremony is about to begin" Keitaro nodded his head, happy to see her gone before walking off to the door, his sister not far behind him.

"Stay safe up there Keitaro" He watched his sister's pleading eyes and couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face, "I should say the same to you, Jonin Honoka Uzumaki of the 51st Gun Brigade" The Uzumaki twinkle shined through her orbs now as she slapped his arm playfully.

"I'm just a reserve now and I like that position" Keitaro smiled, he never liked it when his sister was sad especially when it involved him. "May Kami watch over you and may the Fourth's luck be with you" Keitaro smiled when her sister mentioned that, kissing her forehead softly.

"I'm sure our Great Uzumaki is smiling down at me Honoka" They broke contact with one another as he slid into his Chakra Powered Automobile closing the door and priming the ignition. He was slightly satisfied when he heard the sound of the Chakra Engine turning on but just to make sure it was all ok he pumped some of his potent Uzumaki Chakra into the system.

"I'll be watching by the Television" His sister informed him and he gave her a quick nod in response before the door shut close and his vehicle sped out of the driveway and the Uzumaki compound within Konoha City.

As he drove he looked upwards to the great city that loomed over him. The great skyscrapers of modern architecture and the near invisible scars of the Fourth Shinobi World War that happened near a millenia ago. Keitaro grinned when he thought back to the stories his sister used to tell him.

Stories of the Great Naruto Uzumaki, Rokudaime of Konohagakure no Sato, son of The Yellow Flash of Konoha and The Red Death of Uzushiogakure no Sato, Member of the Nine Guardians of Shinobi No Chi and the Saviour of The World who went toe to toe with the infamous Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha with such unparalleled strength and conviction that won him the title of the Nidaime Rikudo Sennin.

Since so long ago the world of Shinobi No Chi has grown so much, expanding throughout their lands with explorations and science, they had met so many new people and civilizations and ushered in a centuries of prosperous advancements and wealth. Every inch of their world had been colonised and searched before the people of Shinobi No Chi began work to explore space.

"And they did" Keitaro thoughts mildly as he doubled check his Captains Uniform. As he said this he passed into view of a massive Sarutobi-Class starship that was currently docked in the Nidaime Harbour. The massive ship easily a solid five kilometers long, it was the pride of the Shinobi fleet as being the most dangerous ship to have ever been crafted using Infinite Chakra Submission Engines and the most state-of-the-art Ballistics and Seals systems ever crafted installed into the weapons systems.

This beauty of a ship as his, Keitaro thought as his car engines revved to his own feelings. There was a certain pride in his eyes as his gazed landed on the name of the ship. Written in big blocky white letters was the name 'Kurama' in remembrance to the Nine-Tailed Bijuu that had watched over Konoha City in its Golden age.

Eyes facing forward again the redhead smiled as he pulled to a stop next to the stage where currently all of the officers were currently seated. Pushing himself out he was less than disappointed to see Carlos Vernon, a local from the Lands of the West, standing next to a podium with his First Officers Uniform on. Next to him Yumi Yamanaka was doing the same only her uniform was an altered version for a female, a Navy Blue Patch was attached to her right arm signifying her rank as The Sector Commander of the Fighter Division.

Behind the two of them stood Rear Admiral Teuchi Senju, the old man having more Campaign Ribbons and Medals adorning his uniform than the number of wrinkles on his face. The Rear Admiral was wearing an all Grey Admirals Uniform with the insignia for The Grand 1st Royal Navy adorning his right side. Next to the Admiral was Akio Haruno, the former Captain in Charge of the Sarutobi-Class Starship. The female flashed Keitaro a disarming smile before returning her steady gaze to the crowd with Parade Precision.

When Keitaro took his position next to his First Officer Rear Admiral Teuchi took a step towards the podium. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Naval Fleet" Keitaro marveled slightly at the near emotionless tone the Rear Admiral was sporting as he delivered his speech to thousands of Naval Personnel that were to crew the Kurama, "We gather here today to announce the service of one of The Royal Navy's first ever Sarutobi Class Exploration and Defence Starship designated 'Kurama'. Take heart young Shinobi of the Elemental Nations, the Gunmen of the West, The Minds of the East and the Colonists of the South, you will all travel to system far distant from known Shinobi Controlled space but fear not, for you will face hardships and obstacles but in the words of one of our greatest heroes 'We Endure', do not falter, do not break heart for you shall be the carriers of our will and with this you shall be the ones to usher in a new Golden Age for our people" The Read Admiral took a step back before snapping a salute, a hand over his heart and eyes facing the sky, "For Our People" These words were echoed by everyone in the area as even Keitaro snapped a quick salute.

"Now onwards to your stations and prepare for liftoff and May The Fourth watch over you as he has always been" Keitaro Uzumaki smiled a foxy grin as he turned 180 degrees to look at the marvelous ship he was to command, nudging his First Officer the soon-to-be-Captain was less than surprise to see the same excitement in his eyes. Carlos took careful and practiced steps towards the open hangar bay doors alongside Keitaro and the Uzumaki smiled the biggest smile he had ever known.

"Man if only Honoka was here"

**Authors Note: Now to All familiar and unfamiliar readers of my work it is mandatory for me to say "HELLO YOU BLOATS" but instead I will say this...Hi. Now this is a new story I concocted within the recesses of my mind. I don't know if this has been done before as I've only seen something like this in Misplaced by Deus Swiftblade**

**IMPORTANT: Now this may be a multi-crossover but I need people to give me suggestions as to which and how and yadda-yadda-yadda I also wouldn't mind to have a co-author or an editor to help out with this because I already have enough stories on my table. Anyways, I want people to review in this one SRSLY review and further more again when you post your suggestion for a crossover put down exactly what it is don't just give me hints thinking I'll know XD that happened. With that said Goodbye! Selamat Tinggal! **


	2. Chapter 2

You know I'm putting this up here because you know, there's gonna be a lot of mismatched ranks in the story so I'm putting this up for the benefit of the people and myself

Army Structures: Each Army Company is comprised of Four Platoons. Each Company is headed by a Jonin Lieutenant With Four Platoon Jonins acting as Platoon CO's with four individual fire teams for each platoon headed by a chuunin. An Army Battalion is comprised of Four Companys and is headed by Low to Mid Jonin. High Jonin are given direct control over Four Army Battalions forming a Division. All Kages hold direct authority over all ground forces.

Army Ranks Highest to Kage Military Commander, Mid Kage Military Commander, Low Kage Military Commander, High-Jonin Commander, Mid-Jonin Commander, Low-Jonin Commander, Jonin Lieutenant, Platoon Jonins, First Chuunins, Second Chuunins, Genin.

Naval Structure:Fleet: The Shinobi no Chi fleet is numerous and large in scope needing a vast array of leading troops. Most if not all command befall four separate ranks, Captain, Admiral, Rear Admiral and VIce admiral.

Ships: On Ships command structures are almost the same to their ground counterparts. The Commanding Officer is almost always the Captain, unless of course a person of higher rank is aboard (Army personnel are not included as a High Jonin Commander is Equivalent to a Fighter Squadron Commander, in fact one must be a Mid Kage Military Commander to be equivalent to a Captain), next to the Captain is the First Officer which is then succeeded by the Second Officer and if completely necessary acting commander will be dropped to the Sector Commander of the Fighter Squadron. Should in the unlikely case all of said superiors be decommissioned then SNO (Senior Naval Officer) would take the mantle as Captain.

Fighter Squadrons: Fighter squadrons on each individual ships, and commonly entire fleets, are under direct control of the Sector Commanders of the Fighter Division. These Sector Commanders hold as much power as Low Kage Military Commanders. Fighter Divisions are built under the same principle as their ground counterparts only the acting in commands are Jonin Captains with the lesser ranks being Aerial Chuunins and Gunnery Gennins.

Infantry Units:Alongside these Aerial units lies a special brand of groundside military forces trained to fight both within gravity controlled space and zero-gravity control space. These complementary units are called ICRU (Interstellar Combat Ready Unit: Name Sucks I know). These units are trained for Infantry Space Combat, How to Repel Boarding Parties and how to subsequently board enemy ships. They hold a similar command structure to their Army Counterparts only alongside a Platoon Jonin is a Gunnery Chuunin.

Vehicular Units carry the same structure and command as the Army.

Everything else will be explained as the story progresses and there's just no way I'd be capable of fitting this into the storyline so I'll post this up first and then when I'm done with the 2nd chapter it'll be plopped down right underneath this. I'll also post i[ a timeline of what happened during the ending of the Naruto storyline...you know when I figure out the dates.

"_But there is Victory in Death, There is Valor"_

_-Halo 3 ODST Machinima 'Valor'_

_September 20th 2125_

_12:34 AM Shinobi Standard Time_

_Delsto System_

_Outpost: Dawn_

Captain Rentaro Takadono stood atop his bridge aboard the NSA _Forever_. The Captain was a tall young male with brown-hair and had a decorated Captains uniform on. Flanking him was his First Officer, Darren Kovsky, while several Naval Officers worked around them to navigate the ship.

Captain Rentaro Takadono was in charge of the Shinobi's Sixth R&amp;D Fleet in conjunction with the Shinobi ANBU Corps. His fleet of Six 300 metre Engineering Ships were surrounded by several of the ANBU _Bushido-_Class Cruisers ranging from 500 metres to 700 metres. Just recently the ANBU Recon Corps had discovered an alien artifact on the outskirts of the Delsto System and it was the job of the R&amp;D Fleet to find out what exactly is its purpose.

As such the Shinobi Intelligence Division, the successor to the Konoha Intelligence Division, were very keen on finding out what this Artifact did and managed to get the ANBU to repurpose some of their Cruisers to assist in safeguarding them.

Captain Rentaro smoothed out any edges on his uniform as Darren continued to relay orders to the Naval Personnel. "What's the word on the Fleet Darren?" Rentaro turned to his XO and wasn't surprised to see him diligently working with the Nara's.

"The Fleet is responding Green on all Channels and have analysed an estimated 50% of the artifacts Design and theorised most likely function, SIr"

Rentaro hummed in approvement on how fast work was being done and asked for Darren to continue, "The Artifact is made up of two fifteen kilometre long 'arms' surrounding a set of revolving, gyroscopic rings with an unknown energy core reminiscent to Chakra though atomic structures differ. From what we can garner from its appearance and overall power output the device could be a form of Cannon however the main theory is that its supposed to be used for space travel"

Rentaro looked surprised with that notion, an eyebrow delicately raised in question, "From what we can understand this thing only points in one direction which is outside the system towards a previously undiscovered area of space.

The Captain rubbed his chin in deep thought, looking at the artifact with a new found amazement but couldn't help but scoff as the Commissioned _The Kurama, _carried an updated Namikaze-Class Engine capable of space travel across systems using the Famed Fourth Hokage's ability to teleport through use of Dimensional Travel.

Thinking back about _The Kurama_, Captain Rentaro couldn't help but wish the ship was here with the Fleet. _The Kurama_ had been the subject of attention for the past few months. Already it was named the crown jewel of the Navy. The Ship had proceeded to eliminate several pirate gangs all throughout the outer systems and went on to demolish several slave traders occupying the Planet Crypt.

The Captain of the Ship, Keitaro Uzumaki had been awarded a medal a few weeks ago for his distinction in his few short months of service. As far as Rentaro was concerned the military was simply kissing the Captain of _The Kurama's_ ass to show the civilians that they were progressing in terms of technology but it was working. Already funding for a second Sarutobi-Class ship were being poured into the Military's hands in waves.

But alas _The Kurama _was busy with other business and Rentaro severely doubted anything extraordinary to happen.

"Any other news?" Rentaro asked.

Darren shook his head in the negative and the Captain stole a moment to marvel at the foreign architecture. In contrast to the utilitarian design of the Shinobi Ships, made for the practicality of eventual combat then actual aesthetics, the thing was beautiful. Just then the two of the ANBU cruisers flew past the Captains ship and he couldn't help but suck in his breath as the ANBU's smooth ships flanked the foreign beauty in such a way that he was sure this piece of technology would bring with it a boon in Shinobi technology.

"Darren is there any way for us to activate it?" To his credit Darren didn't even flinch to the question and responded evenly, "Yes, sir. We've gathered enough information of the operating systems for a plausible activation of the artifact"

Now this was where being a Captain really made it stressful, the decisions. This may not seem as all that important nor as demanding as the decisions made in combat however it was no less important. There were so many variables that needed to be taken into consideration, what if it would blow up upon activation? What if it leads nowhere? What if it sends them to a war mongering civilisation? These questions plagued a Captain and seeing a truly alien artifact in person only leaves more anxiety to the answers.

"Activate it, contact the ANBU Cruisers and alert them to what's happening" Darren nodded his head in the affirmative and contacted the other transports using the Radio seals devised by the Yamanaka Clan.

As they did Captain Rentaro began to mentally prepare himself, by all accounts he had the clearance and rights to begin such a groundbreaking moment however Rentaro knew he should be more careful. _Which is why_, Rentaro thought, _the ANBU ships are here._

Outside, in the vacuum of space, the fourteen ships started to form a formation towards the Alien Artifact, creating a sort of V shape as one lone engineering ship drifted closer to the centre of attention to perform what would be recorded as the start of an entirely new Era.

The NSA _Forever_ drifted closer and closer the alien artifact, an uneasy feeling rising out of Rentaro's gut as it did. The Nara's onboard were keenly observing the contraption with shrewd eyes. As the ship drew closer Rentaro observed the few moments before what would be an era-changing event. He noted the excited and nervous expressions of his crew, the ready and alertness of the ANBU cruisers and the stoic face of his XO.

'Hopefully,' Rentaro thought, 'that face would be smiling in greeting to new friends'

When the ship was mere metres from the device one of the Naras inputed a code into a terminal, where several Yamanaka transmission seals later sent out various signals towards the device making use of the lesser used electronic signal rather than the telepathic signal favored by pilots.

The devices spiralling rings started to increase in speed, the Nara's terminals that were monitoring the devices power output began cackling to life with several warnings and klaxons.

"Sir, there's a spike of energy coming through the device, it's pulling us in!" Rentaro gritted his teeth as long arms of electricity arched onto the _Forever_ and then passed throughout the fleet ending with the last ANBU Cruiser at the end of the fleet. The artifact began pulsing as its gyroscopic rings increased in tempo, reacting to the foreign energy source inside the ship with a machines equivalent to surprise before it settled and launched the ships through the relay and towards its 'Partner' relay.

_Border of Turian Controlled Space_

_6:45 PM Galactic Standard TIme_

_Turian Patrol Fleet_

Captain Facus Regiion was a Turian in service to the Hierarchy, respectable, cut and dry officer straight out of boot, Facus Regiion was a veteran captain that had seen many skirmishes with batarian pirates and one or two brave volus ships.

His patrol fleet, the few frigates and cruisers unimportant to the main fleet at this time, were riding along the outer edges of Turian Controlled Space and as the hours ticked by, the male had to admit it was a rather boring and routine patrol that every Turian officer knew would mean a slow payday.

Facus remained still and quiet as he sat comfortably rigid in his seat, maintaining the Turians 'Ready at all time' mindset. The Turian, though pointless, took the time to go over various reports from Turians in the engine room on the Mass Effect Cores to help busy himself from the boredom that he was sure would ensue.

As far as he was concerned the only problem his ship is facing was a faulty light bulb in the barracks, everything else was as efficient as it was when it came off the assembly line.

"Sir!" Facus was quick to respond to the call of his subordinate, a young promising Turian named Severus who would have done well as a Captain. "Scanners are detecting an illegal activation of Relay 114! It's a Primary Relay!"

Immediately Facus Mandibles spread open, a Turian equivalent to a grin as he wondered what foolish pirate gang would have the gall to disobey a Citadel Law. Facus gave Severus a look and spoke the only words that he knew, "Prepare Combat Stations! We'll have to teach them a lesson"

The Turians nodded and dutifully punched in codes and numbers into their terminals that was mirrored by the other ships in the Turians small fleet-A fleet Facus thought would be enough to deal with this threat.

When the Turian ships Mass Effect cores sprang to life and within the blink of an eye the Turian patrol fleet were mere kilometres away from the relay, close enough to spot the _alien_ ships positioned outside. Followed by the surprise that it wasn't a band of pirates like originally thought but instead something else entirely.

Facus had to flare his mandibles as he thought he may have stumbled upon a war mongering race, their ships lacked any design aesthetics and was built with the obvious intention to deal damage. They were boxed and utilitarian in design, nothing of the sort indicating a civilians touch. A number of small auto-cannons lined the sides of the ships and a massive cannon underneath it. The ships were no less menacing than the Turians own and the Captain could see many of the young hopefuls flare their mandibles, eager to prove their worth.

"Scan them, do you detect any Element Zero readings?" Facus asked. There was a short silence before Severus made a gesture for no. Facus couldn't help but grin again. An enemy with no traces of Element Zero meant no Mass Effect Cores, no Mass Effect shields, no Mass Effect cannons, therefore-In his mind- a technologically inferior threat.

"Get the Cruisers to form a line, we open fire now" Severus nodded his head and sent a transmission through the fleet, quickly and efficiently Facus saw his Cruisers line up with his and ready their cannons...and then fired.

If Facus had paid attention then he would have noticed how the ships weren't in any actual order and were in fact merely drifting through space, a glaring symptom of a mass power failure as the Chakra in their systems couldn't cope with the sudden intrusion of the foreign eezo energy which had lead to mass malfunctions through their systems.

And if the Turian had any true idea to the utter storm he had brought upon the Turian race then he was a fool as one lucky Yamanaka stationed in one of the ships farthest away from the Turian ships, was an ANBU operative who knew better than to go down without sending a warning. The male sent a telepathic signal between him and a Yamanaka at ANBU HQ and sent as much memories he could compress before he felt the sweet bliss of oblivion take over when his ship blew up.

In an instant the defenceless fleet was destroyed and the Turians would have burned into their minds the start of a bloody war.

"Anymore of them?" Facus asked. Severus made another motion no and the Captain nodded his head. "Search the ships, the Hierarchy would want prisoners to question"


	3. Chapter 3

"_A Token of Appreciation is just another word for 'It was the cheapest thing I could get'" _

_-Unknown_

_Turian Controlled Space_

_Palaven_

_1:00 PM Galactic Standard Time_

In a current hearing within the planet Palaven the various Primarchs were currently discussing an incident that happened with one of their Border Patrols. The Primarchs had always been crisp and clear to the point in each meeting but this was the very first day an uneasy silence had filled the meeting hall. They all knew what had just happened, an event that many within Citadel space had not hoped to ever transpire again. First Contact and _not_ by the Citadels hand.

"Do the Salarians know of this?" Primarch Aetmus asked. What he had received were grim nods of negative.

"We kept everything vocal and even then under heavy terms" Primarch Legius replied grimly. They all knew what would happen if Salarians were involved, Turians would be blindsided and another century or so of debate and inaction allowing this new enemy time to consolidate their forces.

"Primarch Aetmus your systems are closer to the recent events than ours, what exactly happened?" Immediately all eyes turned to Primarch Aetmus who immediately leaned his back against his seat when he realised the weight put upon him. If he worded things right then the Turians might gain a new Client Race, if not, then a mere devastation of the enemy fleet would be in order to make sure they didn't do this again.

"From what we can gather the 'Unknown' race had activated a previously inactive Relay 114. Patrol Fleet Captain Facus responded to the breach of Citadel Law and proceed to exterminate the transgressors" Aetmus' voice was solemn but also hard and cold, he had no sympathy for those who break the law.

"Upon contact with the 'unknowns' Captain Facus immediately dealt with them, eliminating the law breakers. Their ships possess no traces of Element Zero and we have theorised that they don't have a mean of Faster Than Light travel" Murmurs broke out among the Primarchs, if that was true then whatever on the other side of the Relay was no doubt the aliens homeworld.

"How do they travel then?" Primarch Vekur asked.

Aetmus shook his head, "Unknown however there were several markings on the ships hull and areas where their engines _should _be"

"Tribal perhaps? Savages?" One Primarch suggested.

Aetmus made the Turian equivalent to a shrug, he didn't have a clue to what half of it was and he had seen the pictures. "Had the Patrol Fleet captured any survivors?" Legius asked.

Aetmus made a nod and the Turians flashed their proud mandibles when a hologram sprang to life between them.

A single asari shaped lifeform was sprawled on the ground, chains holding his hands together and a stream of red liquid traveling down his mouth. The alien, though pale and sickly looking, was glaring at his Turian guards, one holding a baton and the other calmly speaking to him.

"As you can see it isn't talking and the few moments of speech it was willing to give our translators were incapable of deciphering it" Aetmus replied.

"Where is he held?" Legius asked.

"He is currently held in the Colony world Galedia closest to Relay 114" The Primarchs sat silently after this, all of them thinking hard on the best course of action and the only option any Turian would have gone with, the law.

"Aetmus is that Patrol fleet captain still in the system?" Legius asked.

Aetmus gave a brisk nod and immediately the few remaining silent Primarchs began speaking up with promises and plans to reinforce the Patrol fleet with a dreadnought, cruisers, frigates and an Admiral.

The Turians never did things at the minimum, no they much rather preferred to go in heavy handed. Even as they spoke , even before the meeting had even begun those very ships had already been dispatched with very clear orders, 'Eliminate the enemy and secure their home planet'

_Bijuu System_

_12:00 AM Shinobi Standard Time_

_Orbiting Station: Council_

Hovering just above the Shinobi homeworld was the station that the council of the Shinobi Alliance would often use to discuss matters of great importance. These chambers had housed many of the Shinobi Alliances many great events that had been fought with the pen rather than the gun, Peaceful negotiations, The Planning of Military assets during the Colonial War and more importantly the recent news of the destruction of Captain Rentaro and his ANBU ships sent to investigate an unknown, possibly alien artifact.

Within the Council station sat the Kage of State, Ana Birchwood (The first non Shinobi Kage) flanked by her advisors, Thell, a hard-hitting ANBU veteran who had survived through the toughest of the Colonial Rebellion and Tsubaki, the daughter of Rear Admiral Guro and graduate of Iwa CIty College.

The three of them were seating at the head of a long rectangular table occupied by the various Military Commanders. The Current Admirals of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Royal Fleet, Rear Admiral Teuchi Senju, Rear Admiral Guro Ayuzawa, Rear Admiral Ayumi Haruno (Sister to Akio Haruno) and Rear Admiral Ben Kowalski. The last few remaining being the most influential in the Shinobi Armed Forces.

Vice Admiral Sato Nara, High Kage Army Commander Kevin Goldfield, High Kage ICRU Commander Takumi and ANBU Commander Falcon.

These were the highest ranking members of the Shinobi Alliance, the most influential men beside the Kage herself. At this very moment these people of great power were in a deep discussion to the events that had happened to Captain Rentaro and his R&amp;D fleet.

"Could it have been Pirates?" Rear Admiral Ben asked, his tone of voice suggesting his remark was merely half-hearted.

"Highly unlikely, Pirates may be getting desperate but not that desperate, besides _The Kurama_ ended their little gang long before they were able to unify themselves to become an actual threat." Guro's gruff and gravelly voice was straight to the point as he shifted on his chairs wheels.

"From as far as the Yamanaka was able to provide us memory wise, these enemies seem to incorporate a type of dolphin shaped ships, blocky and using a power source not even close to Chakra" The ANBU Commander Falcon supplied though all knew what he was implying.

"Face it people, the Shinobi have just made First Contact with a Hostile extraterrestrial force" Teuchi calm deep baritone stirred everyone in surprise. It wasn't much his voice more so what he had just mentioned.

Ayumi Haruno stepped in to make a clear statement to the males before they made any rash decisions, "We don't have enough conclusive evidence to be certain its extraterrestrial, the images sent back were fuzzy and barely showed anything more than just blocks of metal in space, for all we know this could mean an entirely different thing" Before an argument could erupt it was quickly quelled.

"Even so we cannot discard the fact that the citizens inhabiting the Delsto System are in danger of an attack" Ana Birchwoods voice was quiet and stoic however it conveyed only strength and a demand for attention. Silence filled the room as none dare to speak above the Kage and merely sat silently, watching in awe as this twenty-five year old Kage had just silenced a room full of Naval Veterans and the most top ranking of soldiers.

The Kage passed her eyes over the seated member before she laced her fingers together while propping her elbows onto the table. "When the Five Great Kages formed the Shinobi Alliance, it was made with the promise to defend citizens of the Alliance which was then extended to spacefaring humans. The questions we _should_ be asking now is whether we can defend our people from these new and obviously powerful enemies and not whether they are _aliens_ or a slave fleet" Her voice was deceptively calm but one can clearly see her ire through her eyes.

Her pupils darted to one of her advisors, not turning her head, she addressed, "Thell what of the fleet stationed in the Delsto system?" Ana asked.

The old ragged male cupped his chin in deep thought, hardened experienced eyes reflecting old reports that had landed on his desk months ago. "Following the passing of the Colonial Act, the only inhabiting ships in the Delsto system are docked on the only inhabitable planet Lao, is within my understanding that the only ships there are ten _Bushido_-Class Cruisers, five _Sickle-_Class Corvettes and nothing more"

Ana returned her eyes to the Military Officers and her eyes gave them a clear question, 'What will you do?'

Teuchi was the first to speak, "The 1st Royal Fleet is currently a months travel away from the Delsto system and if we move now we could reach there earlier" The admirals gave Teuchi a wandering look but none pressed him on his decision.

"The ANBU Fleet is only made up of Corvettes, Frigates and Cruisers, however there are nearby assets that I can send towards the Delsto systems" Falcon's voice was clear and crisp, no emotion and no hesitation, the way an ANBU operative should speak.

"What of _The Kurama_?" Ana asked. Vice Admiral Sato loosed his collar as all eyes turned to him and before he could speak Tsubaki made it prudent to quell any argument he may have, the Nara's though brilliant were always cautious, "It is to my understanding that _The Kurama _has an updated Namikaze-Class Engine that could possibly reach the Delsto system half the time the Royal Fleet could, it could provide an advantage to the Colony's fleet"

The Nara shut his mouth, though he could rebuke her looking at the eyes of his fellow admirals and even the Kage, he knew he had lost this battle. "_The Kurama_ can be sent to assist the Delsto System ahead of the 1st Royal Fleet as soon as you give the word Kage-Sama" Ana was silent for a moment, a myriad of thoughts going through her mind.

Like all Kage before her and most likely after, for any to qualify for the position Kage, one must have went through at least five years of Army Service or two years in the ANBU. For Ana she had went through the five years and it was with this experience that she had thought of the best solution for her people.

"ANBU Commander Falcon I want your ships to try and garner any intelligence on the enemy fleet and if possible take one as a prisoner, I don't care how you do it but I want it done, Teuchi even with the Kurama I would imagine there would still be stiff resistance from the enemy as such I'm giving you the order to reinforce the Delsto Fleet. The Shinobi Alliance will be placed under Red Alert until further notice. We will not bow to this new enemy no matter the consequence am I clear?" The silent nods were enough for her and the meeting was quickly ended.

The Shinobi didn't know their enemy as well as they would have liked but like the Shinobi World Wars and the following wars that happened after it, they would endure until that enemy either surrendered or was demolished.

_**Codex: The Shinobi**_

_**The Shinobi were a civilisation of warriors who had mastered their form of power, chakra. Bearing the ingenuity and abilities to perform tremendous feats they brought their own people to their knees as they raged war after war against each other.**_

_**They continued this battle until the formation of the First Hidden Village where later on more would be made. After these formation of villages were established brief moments of peace were seen before more Ninja Wars broke out. Till finally on the ending years of the Fourth Ninja War also known as the 'Tailed-Beast War' the creation of the Nine Guardians was formed by the Wars hero, Naruto Uzumaki also the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato.**_

_**Forming this group, the Shinobi nations were subjected to a new cultural change as the previous mercenary and militaristic ninjas were replaced with scientists, explorers and diplomats.**_

_**The Shinobi advanced their technology with use of their Chakra and rebuilt their military to compensate for their advancements in weaponry. To this day The Shinobi lead most Scientific, Exploratory and Militaristic project on the Shinobi No Chi homeworld however they stay true to their promises and maintained peaceful relations with the other inhabitants. Such as those of the west and the Earthland counterparts.**_

_**To this day the Shinobi provide most of the enlisted men and women in service to their Armed Forces, at least 20% of the population volunteer for active duty and given their heritage most find themselves in the ANBU or ICRU though it isn't uncommon to find some in the Army or Navy.**_

**Authors Note: So this chapter was mostly to help build up the Shinobi and Turian governments thoughts on the war to come. Sorry if it doesn't seem believable but I'm not all to good in governments or proper conduct of war. Hopefully it wasn't all too bad.**


	4. Chapter 4

'_There is no Black and White in reality, just grey, especially in war'_

_-unknown_

_Turian Controlled Space_

_Outside Relay-114_

_1:00 PM Galactic Standard Time_

_Captain Facus Regiion_

The Turian Captain stood proudly on the deck of the Turian Dreadnought _Perseverance_, the Turains flared proud mandibles as he watched many young Turian hopefuls man their stations and prepare the fleet for what was to be expected a crushing defeat for the inferior enemy.

Facus Regiion will not say he takes pride in this, in fact he does not but he does take in pride to the good he has done. Though his methods were questionable and he himself admitted to be very rash and unfair however the Turian knew what he had done was right. As a Captain who had fought against Batarian Slavers and pirates the Turian male was no doubt hardened for decisions that may prove immoral.

Attacking a technologically inferior race that was glaringly new to space travel was no great jump for pride and in fact when he reported it to his superiors in the Colony world Galedia, he had gotten some surprise and even wandering looks. But Facus didn't mind, he was a Turian and like all Turians whatever he did was for the good of the Hierarchy.

This new and technologically new race wouldn't last a minute in Citadel space with the Batarians and Krogans, they would be safer under Turian protection as a client race than to be accepted as a member of the Citadel Species. Put into the fact the image of the Turians upholding their responsibility as peacekeepers of the Galactic community and maintaining their position in the Citadel Council, this soon-to-be slaughter was a necessary evil.

As Facus looked at the young faces, he saw hesitancy and even disgust. Yes, massacre of an inferior species has a tendency to deflate a person's pride. But the Primarchs, whether in his vision or not, have ordered the forward assault on these new alien species and whether the soldiers wanted to or not, it wasn't up to them.

Facus just hoped that in time the Turians and even this new race would see this as a changing moment in their lives, where they could both prosper well enough together.

"Captain, I think it's best if we return to the ship" Facus turned behind to see Severus, the male having been shaken up at the fact about the destruction of the previous enemy fleet-_They hadn't even fired back, nor did they try to run, Sir you don't think those were civilian ships, do you?- _The question had found a place in Facus' mind but he never thought anything of it, like he said it was a necessary evil.

"Yes I do believe so" The new Admiral in charge of the fleet, Vobus Broclin, was a good Admiral and Facus knew he wouldn't jeopardise the safety of the alien race unjustly. Yes, Faus knew, this would all be for the better.

The Captain gave Severus a nod of understanding, clasped a talon on the young Turians shoulder and then moved towards the docking bay doors. As he passed some Turians gave him nods of respect while some were slow and hesitant, it seems news of his deeds had spread faster than he hoped.

"Severus once we're onboard the ship I want the Turian ground troops prepared and ready for a ground fight, we're not gonna bombard them to extinction, we have to capture the planet and occupy it, understood?" Severus gave an affirmative and by the time the Turians had stopped their conversation they were already at the Bridge on boards the Cruiser _Justice_.

Severus made a salute then slid back into his chair off to the captain side while the Captain himself took a seat on the Captains chair. Calmly waiting for the kilometre length dreadnought to lead the ship onwards which it did, the Admiral even giving a small honest speech on the most likely outcome and expressed his contempt on the situation. By the time he was done the relay had already began arching traces of Element Zero to connect with the Turian ships before launching them towards the unknown race system.

The ships soared through space in Faster Than Light speeds and when the Captain was satisfied that they were almost there, he ordered his men to prepare their weapons. He wanted it done quickly and painlessly for both sides.

When the streams of light finally disappeared to reveal the inky blackness of space, the Turian ships slowly began to launch their rockets towards where the suspected homeworld of the alien species was located. As they did Captain Facus couldn't help but feel a sudden depth in his stomach, it was like a warning from the spirits themselves 'Go Back!' they cried.

Facus shook his head and tried to shut the voices away, there was no turning back now.

"Sir unknown contacts! Ten Cruisers and one Dreadnought, possibly hostile, Sir!" Facus eyes snapped forward, he had expected that the fleet his patrol had encountered outside the relay wasn't all their ships but he hadn't expected them to have a Dreadnought. Almost immediately he was contacted by the Admiral of the fleet.

"Admiral Vobus Broclin" Facus freeted, the Turian Admiral was dressed in the uniform of an Admiral, which admittedly could have been passed off as armor, and he was looking...disgruntled.

"I remember your report specifically emphasize how this species is not at a technological state as we are" He wasn't happy, Facus expected as much. Faulty intelligence was worse than no intelligence at all.

"Yes sir I did. The enemy had no readings of Element Eezo and their ships had no defence against our ships. More than likely I would suspect the dreadnought to be a colony vessel" Facus tried to appease Vobus accusatory ire, assuring him his soldiers wouldn't die at least not too many, Facus wasn't naive to think the unknown didn't have any defences.

"Right" Vobus' mandibles flared slightly, a type of warning for Facus that said 'You'd better be right' before the communication line cut off. Facus eased himself into his chair, he couldn't help but respect the species stubbornness, they would benefit greatly from the Turians and their people may even make exceptional Auxiliary forces.

But when the ships drew closer towards the alien homeworld, inching closer and closer, Facus couldn't help but feel as though the stars themselves were retreating farther and farther away from them, as if they expected a cataclysm to happen and self-preservation dictated to flee.

It was not until a few minutes later that he knew why. Smack dab at the centre of an enemy formation was a massive dreadnought that could have outsized the Destiny Ascensions 3.4 Kilometre length. The Turian found himself impressed with this races ability at engineering and found himself particularly eyeing the Cannon located its its underside.

"That thing's a monster!" Facus didn't chide the Naval man for speaking out of turn and merely marveled at its utilitarian design. The ship had a grace only Military veterans could respect, at the centre of Ten cruisers, it was like a mother of Thresher Maws protecting her brood. No doubt the leader of the attack was located onboard the ship.

"This Admiral Vobus Broclin, all ships mark your targets, once we eliminate the Dreadnought open fire!" _Smart move,_ Facus thought. Eliminate the enemy symbol of strength and they would break, disrupting their chain of command was an added bonus, the following chaos would allow the Turians to cut cleanly through the enemy line.

The Captain ordered his cruiser to position itself next to the Turian Dreadnought, the other Cruisers doing the same and the formed a tight formation, the Frigates already preparing their wolfpacks to eliminate any runners.

A sudden surge of eezo was detected from one of the terminals nearby Facus' seat, he eyed it, anticipating it to go off with the discharge of the Dreadnoughts main cannon, a cannon that made 90% of the ship itself. The terminal blinked red and then with a loud boom it was launched, in all actuality from vacuum he heard nothing but from just looking as the bolt of metal soared through the darkness, he could imagine the sound.

The slug traveled at a velocity of 4025 KM/S that one could barely keep up with the naked eye and when it slammed against the enemy ship, particles and explosive chemical dusted off the ships hull and Facus had every right to expect the Dreadnought to be gone but when the dust cleared, the Turian was slack-jawed (or slack-mandibles?) as the alien ship stood strong and powerful.

The Dreadnought seem to shook with anger at the Turians for even daring to attack it and like its namesake, which the Turians did not know about, it was _pissed._ Suddenly the underbarrel of the ship lit up and Facus was able to notice more of those strange markings he had found on the other ships that had passed through the relay, they were intricate and ended with many circles and 'veins' of oddly made lines spreading from there, encompassing most of the ship in a grand design.

In the blink of an eye the alien ship had launched something, and if Facus was a lesser man, he'd have thought it was a _coil_ and that coil became surrounded by blue energy, energy that looked like _Eezo _and then the blue energy turned to a blue cackling of power that Facus could have mistaken for lightning before it slammed into the Turian Dreadnought. What happened next induced panic into the Turians heart.

The Dreadnought began buckling forward as arcs of _electricity_ began splashing against its barriers, the kinetic energy of the coil itself caused the barrier to falter but with the sudden zap of, not electricity but a far more volatile substance, began to shut down the Dreadnoughts defences.

"All Cruisers form up on the _Perseverance_ defend the Dreadnought no matter what!" Facus immediately ordered his ship to move to the front of the Dreadnought and already Facus' saw some of the Turians launching their own Salvos at the enemy ships, it was there that Facus' saw the enemies unique form of 'shielding'.

It was like a barrier but at the same time not, when the slug reached a certain point of the ship a _warp_ would happen in between the deadly projectile and the ship itself, much like a singularity only more..._natural._ What happened next Facus could only speculate as the projectile did detonate but it just disappeared right afterwards.

"By the spirits I made a mistake" Facus' swore, this civilisation wasn't the helpless _new_ spacefaring species he once thought, they were a powerful intelligent species that did _not_ rely on Eezo and even though Eezo was many times declared the best and only form of Space travel fighting a powerful unknown like this did little to ease Facus' worries even _if_ they were at a technological advantage, after all a fist could beat a gun if it was experienced enough and watching as the enemy Dreadnought closed in slowly, keeping its distance while also preparing to launch another salvo, showed Facus this enemy was very experienced.

_Delsto System_

_Above Planet Lao_

_Onboard NSA_ The Kurama

_Captain Keitaro Uzumaki_

"Shields are holding! The Crystallized Chakra Core is holding at peak efficiency, small arms fire from the enemy Fighters! Strengthening seals keeping the Hull integrity at 98%, we're moving forward! Get the PDS (Point-Defense System) online" Nani Inuzuka, the pilot in charge of Navigation and Control, asked her co-pilot Jacob Stinson, in charge of Weapons and Operations. Jacob snorted as he slapped several runes located on his chairs arm rest, sliding four fingers through several slides as the ship began to vibrate with the launching of the PDS' Quick Impact Chakra Coil, a smaller version of the Chakra Impact Coil used on the enemy Flagship.

"Those bugs are getting really annoying" Keitaro grimaced as another one of those oddly shaped fighter flew across the Bridge main view port. "And I thought our Fighters are daring" He mused.

All around the Captain Naval Officers were working like clockwork, racing between stations and terminals to keep the fleet apprised to the situation and alerting engineering crews to damages.

"Carlos how's the fleet looking up?" Keitaro looked over his shoulder to see Carlos sprawled over the SAT (Situational Awareness Table) that was projecting a holographic map of the battlefield being powered by a Magical Lacrima, cheaper and more reliable for holograms, the picture were mostly red with their fleet colored blue and the enemy green. It's _red_, there isn't much more to be said about that.

"The NSA _Lookie-here _and the NSA _Mincemeat _are reporting severe hull damage, they got tag-teamed by the enemy and their Space-Time seals were overwhelmed" Carlos reported, "The enemy Fighters are also wreaking havoc on the Cruisers but switching the QICC (Quick Impact Chakra Coils) made it easier to shoot them down.

Keitaro frown before turning eyes to the Sector Commander of the Fighter Division, Yumi Yamanaka who was currently barking orders to her HOUND fighters engaged in combat with the enemy through a piece of metal located in her ear that had Yamanaka seals inscribed on them that used the Pilot favored telepathic signals rather than the electronic radio.

"Tobacco Squadron, Neko Squadron and Skull Squadron are currently holding the tide of enemy Fighters at bay, we've lost at least 6 HOUNDs while the enemy is losing a steadily growing number of 25" Keitaro raised his eyebrow, not quite believing that assessment. Seeing the look Yumi clarified, "Their Barriers don't seem to like our Lightning Rounds all too much, Sir" Keitaro made an O face and nodded his head.

"What of the ICRU Units?" Being as large as it was _The Kurama_ had at least two Divisions of ICRU personnel (2560 Soldiers) at its disposal and those very ICRU personnel were currently being transported to the surface of Lao where they would coordinate with the local police in formulating a proper place of attack should the enemy, and it was inevitable, break off from the engagement and start landing troops.

"The _Sickle_-Class Corvettes have just reported all ICRU personnel being safely transported to the planet's surface, they also state that most of the civilians have been sent down into the underground bunkers" Keitaro grimaced, he would rather Carlos have said 'All' rather than 'Most'.

"Tell the Corvettes to hide behind the moon for now, their small and it doesn't seem like the enemy would detect them" That in itself was risky but Corvettes had no room in this type of engagement, in fact Corvettes never had room in this type of engagements.

"Aye Aye, Captain" Carlos smiled slightly and Keitaro could help the chuckle that escaped his lips, the old saying was rarely ever used but if anything the fact that it was used now in such an event was simply ironic.

The Red-haired Uzumaki maintained his stance, standing in between the two pilots, hands clasped behind his back and watching the enemy ships with narrowed eyes. Perhaps it was in his Uzumaki blood, perhaps because of heritage. Being related to the Namikaze and naturally The Yondaime Hokage and also to the famed Rokudaime Hokage who both stood at the face of great odds with fierce determination that Keitaro was able to stand so still as another of their rounds impacted against the ships Space-Time Seals.

(I was listening to the Mass Effect them while writing this)

Oddly Keitaro wondered whether they had felt the fear he was feeling now and if so he wondered why they kept fighting. This fear gnawing away at his heart, the adrenaline crunching through so painfully that it was only due to his blood that he hadn't crumpled to his knees. So how? Then he passed his eyes over his crew and slowly he began to realise, they had to stand, tall, proud and strong whether out of confidence, stupidity or will, they simply _had_ to stand because if not them...then who? So Keitaro had to wonder to himself, who had to stand here? Was it him? So naturally due to his relation to these two heroes? Or was it more?

Again he passed eyes through his crew and then to the ships outside that were valiantly fighting against this enemy of thirty-two ships, as Cruisers wreckage drifted past him, numbly reading the name of the ship as _Mincemeat_, Keitaro realised. No, he wasn't what had to stand so proudly and neither did the Yondaime nor the Rokudaime. They didn't stand, they guided, they built. It was they alone that made the hero, it was what they had created that made them heroes. And in this very battle, it wasn't he nor his crew that stood as the heroes, the standing proud warriors of old, but it was the very ship that was leading this fight.

_The Kurama_ held strong against the enemy blasts, each cacophony of Lightning and Wind it launched was like the roar of an angry beast in Keitaro's ears. Like the shinobi before, Keitaro was an insect to this beast, just as the heroes of old made their companions feel. In this way Keitaro knew, if _The Kurama_ would not stand then who would? It wasn't Keitaro to be the symbol, Keitaro is the one to pick the ship back up when it would be faltering, to lead it onwards when it knew nowhere to go.

Keitaro stilled his breath as this fact caused a jump start to his muscles and as if the ship itself was spurred on by the Captain another Chakra Impact Coil was launched, this time laced with Wind Chakra, and it slammed against the enemy ship like an apocalypse. it pierced through the ships neck, severing it from existence as the Cruisers began riddling the Kurama with shots. The Space-Time Seals activated and the thin veil that surrounded the ship lit up like a firecracker as several barriers began springing up all around the ship, using the veil as power and a basis to emerge. The enemy fire splashed against the barriers, briefly being absorbed before the eezo was rejected by the Crystallized Chakra Core while it tried to feed the seals as much Chakra needed.

_39%, _Keitaro barely registered the number as he ordered his ship to aim for those that looked like Carriers, if the space battle was lost then Keitaro would damn well make sure the Ground Battle would win.

_28%, _The three remaining NSA Cruisers began to surge forward as the previous enemy fleet of 35 enemy ships was whittled down to 20. The Cruisers began forming a line between _The Kurama_ and the enemy ships.

19%, Keitaro was livid as he stared at the ships blocking the main cannon of _The Kurama_ and immediately ordered a Com. link established between the lead Cruiser. "What do you think you're doing! You're blocking the path of the Kurama get out of the way!" Keitaro all but screamed into the Communication seal. The Uzumaki was angry but then he heard the soft ragged breaths on the other end, the coughing and splashing of blood and Keitaro realised, the man on the other end was close to death.

'_This is Senior Naval Officer Takeda Bu-*Cough-Cough* agh, if this is the Captain of The Kurama my apologies, Sir but I cannot follow that order'_ Keitaro was about to retort but the SNO stopped him before he could begin '_Sir, we cannot allow _The Kurama _to fall, It'd lose the moral of the troops if that happened so early in the conflict and honestly Sir you're our best hope to show this Alien-teme's that we Shinobi don't fall easily' _

The Uzumaki snapped his mouth shut, eyes glazed as he watching one of the Cruisers became engulfed in a fiery explosion, one of the lifeless corpse of a Shinobi floating by the Kurama's view port. "Fine" The Uzumaki spat and he noticed how Carlos looked at him worriedly. Calmingly he raised a hand in his direction and ordered _The Kurama _to retreat. If _The Kurama_ fell now, it'd only mean worse for the whole Shinobi fleet.

The Uzumaki glared at the enemy ships as the last of the Colony Cruisers began closing in on them, like rabid animals they tore through three enemy ships before one was destroyed, split in half right down the centre. The last ship, and the ship Keitaro realised was where Takeda was onboard, began putting their engines to full throttle, the ship racing forward and toward and enemy vessel. In a stunning show of power it crashed straight through the Cruiser before the ship ceased and the combine fire from all sides was too much for it to handle. Like another ship before, it exploded in a fiery display before it vanished.

The enemy vessels began to close in on the planet and Keitaro could help but curse as the planet was left to fend for itself in ground warfare as _The Kurama_ retreated to lick its wounds. Looking down at one of his pilots Terminals Keitaro saw something that only served to make him angrier.

In big blocky letters it read, _**Shield Strength 9% Hull Integrity 68%. **_Keitaro punched the nearest wall and cursed. As if it felt Keitaro, and the entire crews, sorrow _The Kurama _began buckle and let out a wail of despair for fallen comrades and a lost battle.

Keitaro felt anger bubble in his chest, he wanted to go back, he wanted to slaughter every last one of them. The Captain lifted his head and then looked as if visibly struck by bullet. In front of him, on the side wall of the ship was the Shinobi motto. A motto made by the Great Rokudaime and Leader of the Nine Guardians himself. It read 'Endure, Heroes are born of sacrifice'

Guilt and shame built up in his chest and complete self-loathing. A hand was placed onto Keitaro's shoulders and he looked behind him to see Carlos' reassuring face, smiling at him to say 'Stay Strong'. The Uzumaki turned his head away.

Again he wondered.

How do those heroes stand so strong.

**Codex: Naval Technology.**

**Due in part to their counterparts in the west the Shinobi complimented a wide variety of ships and capabilities that the people of west continuously try to outdo andthereby continue to strengthen the Shinobi Navy and Army.**

**Learning from Modern Sea Combat and later the Colonial Wars many of those in the Military apprise Scientists and Engineers of the West to situations regarding their creations and suggestions to improve proficiency as such the Shinobi War Machine was a machine that builds on top of itself with many of its advancements being made over previously thought to be the epitome of perfection.**

**Shielding: Using a combination of Seals, Chakra and Western Creativity, the Space-Time Barriers seen on modern day ships find themselves a treasured friend of the Navy. When under combat the NSA ship would release a thin-veil of chakra around the ship itself that acts as a sensory web that detect an enemy projectile when said projectile comes into contact with the veil. Upon contact a Space-Time barrier would appear where the contact was located, using the veil as a basis and fuel. These Barriers absorb the impact of enemy projectiles instead of merely blocking and should it contain any Chakra it would later send this Chakra towards the NSA ship. HOUND Fighters/Interceptors use the same principle however their shields are on indefinitely and do not incorporate the veil, instead due in part to the HOUNDs small size the Space-Time Seals would always react to a collision and instead of absorbing the projectiles Chakra, (if any) the Barrier would merely take the hit head on as the HOUND didn't have enough space to vent off extra Chakra if absorbed and the aircraft itself couldn't handle the stress. **

**Chakra Impact Coils: Large Coiled rounds that make the ammunition of the Shinobi main Naval Weapon, the Cannon located at the underbelly of a ship. These Coils are highly Chakra Conductive and when launched from the main weapon would continuously generate Chakra so as to provide fuel for the resulting attack. In Vacuum there is not Chakra Rich Environment where Jutsus or Affinity Chakra to power itself so the coil acts both as a supplement and a projectile. In addition the Coil can be used in conjunction with the Five Elements, Wind (For Quick Deadly Strikes), Lightning (For Cutting Power), Earth (For Hitting power), Fire (Less used in Vacuum however when used would mostly be targeted at breaches) and Water (Which make good in disabling several systems and atmospheric bombarding. ANBU and T&amp;I use it with either a paralysing drug that saps into a persons skin or poison) The Coils can also be used in conjunction with any Jutsu making the power of the CIC rounds near limitless so long as a shinobi is willing to power the Coil with the Jutsu, this however takes time and previous Chakra.**

**Quick Impact Chakra Coils: Nearly the same in every way to an Impact Coil these are more of the ammunition of the Shinobi's Point-Defense System and Secondary/ Broadside Cannons. They can also be used in conjunction with Jutsus however most view it as a waste and are normally kept within the Five elements.**

**These are but the few basic of the Shinobi Arsenal, an ever changing view on technology as Shinobi learn from the battlefield and off, building upon them and creating what could only ever be deemed, on step towards perfection. As the famous Shinobi saying goes, "A war isn't a war unless you learn something from it"**

_**Authors Note: Mass Effect Music always makes me like that. Anyways, as you people can see I am very much new to Naval warfare, a brief stint in A Spartan to be V2 (which I should go update) was all I had for experience so hopefully it came out good. Now I may not have explained this well in the story but the ships aren't directly in front of the planet, that'd be stupid now wouldn't it? So don't imagine that. Anyways can anybody see where this battle heading? Ground war! My favourite war to write!**_

_**Anyways Signing off.**_


	5. Chapter 5

"_Fighting in a jungle with booby traps, mosquitoes and large enemy forces that can jump out of anywhere on ground level? Fine. Fighting in a city with booby traps, snipers and one soldier that could obliterate your forces by simply being one floor up? Not fine"_

_-Paintball instructor 2007 _

_Delsto System_

_Lao_

_11:00 AM Shinobi Standard Time_

_ICRU Jonin Lieutenant Suiren, Bravo Company._

Shinobi were never one for politics, there was the occasional talk between the west and enemy parties but as far as it goes Elemental nation natives would much rather start shooting than negotiate. A side effect to their mercenary roots however when push came to shove they made great politicians, their stubbornness and evolving views made them quick and easy adapters to the fight of words rather than sword. These aliens who were invading Lao however got the wrong end of the stick, the very sharp and pointy end of the stick that can mutilate you with one hit.

The ICRU soldiers who were dropped into the battlefield were hardened troopers, all of them having more than enough chakra to go a week spewing Jonin level techniques, granted they'd be hospitalised at the end of it. Add to that the hardened veterans of the Colonial rebellions and the countless Pirate raids these men and women were some of the toughest the Shinobi Alliance had ever even dreamed of making. So it was no wonder that these elites were downright merciless to these aliens attacking on one of their own.

It was a fact Suiren could see clearly as two of her subordinates, Mamoru Momochi and Yukiko Yuki proceeded to section off a corner of aliens for them to take care of using their famed Silent Killing Technique. The Lieutenant was barely doing much, simply watching as her Company of 80 strong began to cut these aliens left and right. All of them falling to their onslaught. Though mutely she noticed the bodies of several humans littering the battlefield, Police Officers and the unlucky ICRU. Suiren cursed to herself.

These aliens were overall weaker than the majority of her troops but they were well disciplined and had the advantage of numbers. "Look out!" The shout was punctuated with an explosion. three human soldiers flying up into the air, charred and some missing limbs.

Some metal spheres were being thrown into the air, not randomly she noted, they were in a pattern each in the highest concentration of her soldiers and each detonating in deadly blast of fire and heat. "Get down! Those things are like exploding tags!" The ICRU heeded her command but they weren't so helpless as give ground to these aliens simply because of some spherical contraption that went boom. Once a ball was thrown a Shinobi was quick to throw it back at the, sometimes even kick and before they knew it the aliens found themselves the victim to their very own weapons.

Suiren raced forward from the wreckage of an exploded Police Car, IRAR rifle raised and deftly she switched the Ammo type to Wind Rounds, perfect for quick, lethal and quiet hits. With practised ease honed from years of fighting she had sighted in an alien and squeezed the trigger. The alien squawked in surprise as its shields failed and by the time it had noticed Suiren's approach, long blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail and all black ICRU inform complete with fingerless gloves and kevlar vest, it was already too late. Suiren popped two shots into its head, the first puncturing through and the second splattering it, she forced the aliens partner to pull black but he underestimated the speed of a Shinobi. In mere seconds she had closed the gap in between them and the Lieutenant forgone Assault Rifle and instead pumped chakra into a seal located on her wrist. By the blink of an eye a tanto was in her hands and she brought up, intent on gutting the alien but to her immediate surprise the alien brought its gun up and blocked the metal blade.

The Kiri native grinned and she expertly pushed the alien back, it started flailing its arm in order to steady itself from the far more powerful hit than anticipated, and before he was able to react Suiren launched an open palm thrust into his chest, forcing his body back and colliding with two of its buddies and crushing them against a car. She heard the sounds of bones snapping and she winced.

"Ouch" She muttered. The Kiri native looked around her, many of her Shinobi were rushing the aliens, they of course surprised at the sudden change to close quarters were caught off guard as they were eliminated with ease though some had actually managed to kill a Shinobi or two. Smirking as she noticed one of her Platoon Jonins, a Kumo native named C had successfully flash fried two aliens using a quick Fireball Technique.

The Lieutenant wrapped a hand around the seal located at her shirts collar and spoke. "_This is Bravo our sectors getting cleaned up, Alpha, Delta, you there?" _She waited a moment before her radio seal lit up with an incoming transmission.

"_Yeah this is Delta, Bravo heads up you got bombers coming in. Lariat Vector Half-initiative, haven't seen one of these since I was a barefaced recruit at fifteen years of age. These aliens either have outdated flight patterns or are just too confident" _Suiren had raised an amused eyebrow as she heard the law thrum of jets pushing through atmosphere. The Lariat Vector was an old bombing pattern where two bombers would towards each other and drop their payloads, a near copy of Kumo's own Lariat technique, a Half-Initiative just meant that instead of having two opposing bombers fly down, there was only one run. However this technique quickly went out of style for a reason these aliens were just about to learn.

"Mamoru, Kelsi, Gorou, get up there and take them down!" The Momochi, dressed similarly to Suiren only with a bandages covering his lower mouth and forehead, grunted in response and the three ICRU personnel climbed up the nearest the building. Chakra sticking the soles of their boots to the wall the three soldiers scaled it in nearly three seconds, at the end of which they jumped off the building and latched onto the passing bombers. Suiren could imagine the surprise the aliens felt as her soldiers slapped Exploding tags onto their cockpits, Mamoru getting creative and pulled out his tanto blade, shattering the protective glass that protected the pilot and the shoveling himself off the soon to be wreckage.

The Kiri female watched her man landed safely onto the ground, Mamoru not being as lucky as Kelsi and Gorou and crashing into an advertisement sign. The male fell forward only to be caught in the waiting arms of Yukiko Yuki. "I told you one of these days you'd hit something as stubborn as you are" The female giggled as the Momochi glared at her with a growl.

Suiren meanwhile was shaking her head at their mannerisms but let it slide due in part to their close history together. The Jonin looked around the battlefield and only saw mangled alien corpses and the occasional Prisoner being pushed forward by her men.

Carefully Suiren checked her Stone of Gelel Crystal Chamber and reset her IRAR to its default Earth Rounds. "Gear up we're moving to the next sector!" The shouts of her soldiers were immediate and already they had began racing up nearby buildings to follow their orders. Suiren smiled, walking was overrated anyways.

_In Orbit of Planet Lao_

_Turian Cruiser: Justice_

_Captain Facus Regiion_

The Captain that had practically motivated this invasion-turned slaughter was lying slumped in his chair as several panicked cries and hasty requests for evac was being blared through the Turian communications link. The majority of the bridge crew weren't even paying attention as they tried to quell the fires spawned from overloaded terminals and ferrying injured crew membered to and fro the medbay.

"Sir engineering teams are reporting mass malfunctions in the Mass Effect core, several hull breaches and half of the crew are near death, Sir, we need orders!" Severus was downright panicking. This was his first situation in such a mess and though boot camp instilled discipline and order in any event the sight that the young Turian had seen just moment ago had shattered his reasonings.

Facus drew a breath before he straightened his back and regained his dignity as Captain of the Turian Hierarchy, for however long that would be. "Send the engineers and any available crew member to the Mass Effect core to stop the fires and fix it, if it goes than we all go with it. Rally up the medics and tell them to sweep through the most heavily damaged areas and deal with the wounded there first." Severus made a shaky salute before disappearing to relay the orders. The Captain watched him go before sighing again.

Everything was in shambles. His vision of creating a peaceful treaty with the inferior race through a show of military strength and might had backfired and instead he had probably loosed a rabid Varren on both the Turians and the Council species, granted smart Varren that could apparently do magic and break the very fabric of space and time to defend their ships.

Facus looked out his window to see the wreckage of the _Perseverance_ suddenly float by his ship. The entire Dreadnought had been bisected and more than 80% of the crew was dead most having been killed by the electric shock that happened right after the coil had impacted against the ships hull.

Facus wondered if this were their tactics. Eliminate the crew rather than the ship itself, he would admit it was bloody genius, the entire thing would probably revolutionise Naval warfare but a bitter taste filled his mouth when he remembered that the same very tactic was being used against them. The remaining 18 Turian ships, 7 Cruisers and 11 Frigates, we all practically limping now, most of their crew injured or dead and the Legions of the Turian Hierarchy were battling it out with the alien ground forces in what Facus estimated was a massacre. Oh the Turians were putting up a good fights but in the end the aliens had superior weaponry and superior abilities. For every one soldier they killed a serpent made of water would appear out of nowhere and kill fifty.

"_This is Desolas Arterius leading the 13th Legion, we have met heavy ground forces and are being pushed back to the landing zone, request immediate aerial assistance, I repeat we are-argh! Their right on top of us!-" _Facus didn't pay the transmission any heed, similar calls were being made by other legions and as much as they wanted to the Cruisers couldn't afford to launch anymore salvos. Indeed when the launched the first bombardment to clear the landing zone two Cruisers had literally fallen apart from the stress.

Facus turned to the bridge, seeing as how he was alone now with nothing but the fires to keep him company...but something was off in the air. The Turian felt this. Quietly he pushed himself off his Captain chair and turned around to the opened door leading toward the main compartment of the Turian vessel.

"Severus? Anyone?!" Facus yelled. All he got for his efforts were echoes. Echoes? Why the hell are there Echoes? Cautiously Facu removed his Pistol from his waist and moved towards the hallway. Raptor-like eyes watching every corner like a hunter scouting a wild beast.

"Navigator! Helmsman!" He yelled. The ship was silent. The echo of his own voice was his only answer and only solace. The Turian turned down a corner and immediately the stench of blood slammed against his nostrils. The Turians mandibles flared in abject horror as a pile of bloodied Turians sat at the end of the room. Each dripping blood from a cut through their throat or spine. But they weren't tossed onto the ground randomly, no, they were placed methodically as if the person who did it wanted some sort of image shown from it but otherwise the Captain couldn't see what. But he would never really see it when suddenly he felt a sharp pain to the back of his neck followed by several small stabs to his spinal column. When he fell onto the ground he spotted two black boots right in front of his eyes and before he could blink those black boots slammed painfully against his face, knocking him unconscious.

_Planet Lao_

_13th Legion_

_Desolas Arterius_

The Arterius' mission had been simple, evaluate the technological state of the alien species and to confirm any points of interest, advance technology, Prothean ruins, the works. But Arterius sword, if he made it out of this alive he would write a three hundred _detailed_ report on everything valuable on this spirits forsaken hell hole which could be summarised in a few short sentences.

_What in the name of Krogan Fucking Spirits thinking!_

The elite of the Turian ranks, survivor of near suicidal skirmishes and a soon-to-be Spectre candidate the Turian was practically turned into a mess of shrieks, cries and whimpers.

These aliens were goddamn magicians! Even as he ran through the dense forests that surrounded the metropolitan city he found several of his men being sucked down into the earth by gaping maws and a water serpent rising out of the air and crashing down on his soldiers, killing a few outright by the impact and drowning the rest.

"Keep moving! We have to get to the evac site!" Desolar roared. The Turians were more than glad to follow that order, very few stopping but to try and delay the aliens by putting some well placed shots.

Desolas huffed to himself as he rose over a peak of dirt and earth before rolling to a stop. The few surviving men of the legion began forming up around him. They were at the evac site now if the shuttle would arrive it would be the world to Desolas.

The Turians all took cover behind some rocks or trees, one of them actually managed to dig a trench big enough to hide him if he went prone. But Desolas was hanging out into the open, waiting, watching. He should have added not blinking to that list as right when he had closed his eyes, a nanosecond later, he found a fist in his face. The Arterius was thrown across the air like a ragdoll before slamming against a tree, a part of his head fracturing from the extreme hit.

The Turian still had the strength to stand up though and he tried but not before watching as his men were butchered left and right. A group of the aliens, a team of three, were rolling behind cover as the Turians laid down suppressing fire on them. One of the newer recruits tossing a grenade but the action proved fruitless. One of the aliens jumped out and used its gun as a type of weapon to redirect it towards the Turians. Two Turians were killed in the blast.

Another aliens jumped over their cover and began firing their odd bullets into their ranks. Four Turians were killed.

One of the Turians found himself locked in a deadly game of hand to hand with one of the aliens. The alien brought its arm forward with a right hook but the Turian dodged and gripped the outstretched hand of the enemy. With strength of a military man he pulled the alien forward and kneed him in the chest. The alien gasped and the Turian didn't give him time to breath as he slammed the back of his gun onto the back of aliens neck. A snap of bones was heard and the alien fell lifelessly to the floor. One of the aliens had died so far.

One of the Turian pulled out a shotgun from his back and when the alien was close enough he fired. Desolas had to raise a mandible, either the alien hadn't seen a shotgun before or he was just cocky he didn't know. The alien simply turned thinking the widespread shrapnel would pass him but instead he found metal clanking against his shields, not enough to drop it but enough that it cause the alien to stumbled giving the Turian enough time to trip its legs and point the barrel of the shotgun in its face. Pulverising the enemies head in bits and pieces of gore.

One of the aliens stared at the death of his two comrades and was gawking at the Turians in shock and disbelief before anger soon set in. Desolas felt dread rise in his gut as the alien formed those hand signals that preluded one of their magic abilities. Pushing his back against the tree due to primal fear the Arterius watched as a cyclone of wind formed out of the aliens mouths and _shredded_ through the Turians.

Slicing them cleanly into tiny bits and pieces and killing them in the most gruesome way Desolas had ever seen, not even Krogan were this bloody. When the cyclone disappeared Desolas was horrified to see Turian blood and gore littering the ground in front of him. The surviving Legionnaires having been killed in such a way that there was no way to even differentiate them from the other masses of dead bodies.

Desolas looked up, startled as the alien that was formerly a few feet away was now suddenly right in front of him. The Turian tried to raise its Assault Rifle but instead found a knife in his gut, though no lethal, and a glare to his face.

The alien spoke but he couldn't understand his language, "Don't worry, where you're going you'll be wishing for death" The alien then headbutted him, the force so strong that it could have cracked open his skull and the Arterius was knocked into blissful unconsciousness.

All across the planet Turians were fighting and dying. The ground battle of Lao would forever be remembered in Turian history as a massacre that could have completely overruled the Krogan as the dominating race in terms of power.

**AN: So you know I'm not all too proud of the fight if written, if rewritten it five times but I couldn't get it the way I wanted it too so the ground battle will be split into two parts, this part that shows of some pretty important stuff. While you'd get the final bits of Turian resistance in the next chapter, where some other important events will happen.**


	6. Chapter 6

_Bijuu System_

_Shinobi no Chi_

_One Week before the Turian assault_

_Location: Guardians of the Nine Chambers_

The Council of the Nine had always been a symbol for the people of the Shinobi Alliance. In most cases the Members of the Nine dealt with internal security, the large insurrectionist group, a few disgruntled citizens and what not but the most important of their jobs was acting as a mediator between their respective Operational areas and acting as peace keepers. For all intents and purposes the Nine were a separate entity to the Shinobi Council however the Nine held strong political and military power so _eventually_ the seated Kage of the Shinobi Alliance had to inform them of the situation. In doing so most people would expect an outrage from the Nine...but Ana knew otherwise. The Nine were still and quiet as they reclined comfortably against their chairs.

The room she was sitting in was largely dominated by an oval table where the whole Shinobi Council and then some could seat with enough arm space to just swing them around. The room was sploshed with different colors, each representing one of the Nine Bijuu with the original members of the Nine, the ones who became their new hosts after the war had ended. The Nine had no leader but if anyone were to really guess it'd be the holder of the Kyuubi considering the Bijuu themselves chose their Jinchuuriki now and considering the fact that the now current Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was the first ever since the death of the Rokudaime Hokage spoke volumes of the man he is.

The current Kyuubi container was a man named Takashi Saika a brown haired male who had been known in Konoha City as a former member of the GHOST mercenary group, a cunning and ruthless individual it was no wonder why the kyuubi chose him as his next container after more than a century of guarding Konoha in its Kyuubi form.

All around the table were the Nine members themselves, each being the Jinchuuriki to one of the Tailed Beasts themselves.

"This is a very pressing concern, the peace achieved after the Colonial war had been shaky from the beginning but if this new conflict has anything to say, we may have a problem with the Civilian sector" The Jinchuuriki of the Nibi, Asuna, was shaking her head as she thought of the ramifications. The Brown-haired female turned to the pseudo-leader of the Nine only to see him deep in thought most likely conversing with his tenant.

"The situation is indeed dire and there is the possibility of the Colony fleet being pushed back even with the assistance of _The Kurama_" Ana reported. Minutely she noticed the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki smile amusedly. This was the only thing she hated about talking with him, he was always chatting with the fox and she didn't know what was being said.

"While this is indeed troubling, we ourselves are in no position to be of assistance. Stability has already been disrupted through the Inner Colonies and the multitude of mercenary groups popping up is doing nothing to quell the sudden growth of violence in the Outer Colonies." The Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi said, a man named Celq. Before Ana could speak up the silent hall was attacked with uproarious laughter as Takashi began laughing into the air.

"Those pansy Merc cogs won't last a week!" He laughed. Ana frowned at the male while the other members just nursed their headaches from his outburst. The current Kage realised that this was a regular occurrence for them.

"And what makes _you_ so sure?" Gari, the Ichibi Jinchuuriki asked.

Takashi laughed before he held his peace long enough to reply, "Those guys are pushovers, most of them are rejects from GHOSTS and the army! They don't know how the underground works like I do, the black market dealers themselves aren't willing to risk selling their merchandise to those Glory hounds" Takashi snorted, resting himself against his chair like a swashbuckler of old.

The Members of the Nine exchanged uneasy glances with each other, no doubt what he said didn't raise their opinion of him. The seat of the ninth and most powerful member had been empty for centuries and after so long without the usual headstrong Uzumaki that had led them in their first generation Ana had seen, when she was but a freshly entered student of the Academy of Ninjutsu, that the Nine were becoming stagnant. That was until the Kyuubi had chosen a new host, a similarly headstrong individual with a shady history. Mercenary Work, Extortions, Black Market dealings, the man had been at the very top of the most wanted list when he had been chosen and it had led to an uproar of the community, not to mention within the ranks of the Nine themselves. Having the Ninth and final position being filled with a person such as this, Ana and the Council knew, would lead to changes and whether the Nine were ready or not wasn't up to them.

"They have always been a second priority, they have no organisation or development, just give the Navy a month, a week for ANBU! And these guys will be gone without so much as a whisper" Takashi declared. The silence in the hall was suffocating, Takashi however seemed unaffected even oblivious to it.

"Even if what you say holds merit Takashi, there is no arguing that they still have caused uncountable amounts of damage in the outer colonies" Celq countered.

Takashi shrugged his shoulders uncaringly, "You give a kid a gun and he'll do some damage before you stop him" The Nine were none too pleased with that answer and many seemed ready to start yelling before the timely intervention of Asuna, "Well then Takashi what do you believe our course of action should be?" Takashi turned to Asuna, an amused smile on his face as he humored her.

"Like I said the Mercenaries are no cause of concern, hell we could probably send them in to deal with these aliens and hope they end up killing each other," The other members frowned at this, "But these aliens are a whole different situation. An unprovoked attack and not only that but they've taken Shinobi lives. Our people aren't as forgiving as we believe them to be" The Nine passed eyes at each other before turning to Takashi.

"Publicise the incident that happened between the R&amp;D fleet and the Colony itself. Civilian support will most likely be instantaneous and then we send our fleet to take one of their colonies" Takashi said calmly. There was an immediate reaction by the Nine members, all of them rising to their feets to have a shouting contest. The only one not standing up were Asuna, Ana and Takashi himself. He was calm even in the face of accusations such as 'You're a war monger!' Or 'We are the shepherds of Peace not Chaos!' They yelled and preached, Takashi was pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"ENOUGH!" His voice was loud, louder than any other man or woman speaking her mind in the room and he was angry. Takashi had experience dealing with unruly subordinates and to him the Nine were the unruliest of them all. If it were up to him he'd gun them all down but the Bijuu were picky about their hosts.

"I'm not going to dignify any of you with a response!" Takashi roared, rightly so for even with their loud arguments, Takashi knew they agreed with him. The Shinobi and all her allies were bred for war, that was their birthright and the Shinobi have proved it time and time again. It was standard for Elemental Country natives to join the Academy of ninjutsu at the age 8, a tradition slightly followed by their allies, and to be trained how to fight and utilise chakra before graduating at the age of 15 and from there you would decide whether to continue a military career or join the Civilian infrastructure. Most chose the Military while those who joined the Civilian infrastructure might as well be in the Military. Everybody knew how to fight, everybody knew how to kill, the divide between Civilian and Soldier was if they were getting paid to kill or not. Every member of the nine knew this, they knew war would be the only option their people would see following publication of the attack and withholding it would only lead to another rebellion. Takashi's answer was for the most part, a solution.

"_Kage_, with the _infinite_ wisdom of the Nine Guardians I advise to _retaliate_ against the aliens, defending our Colony is one thing, we need to show these aliens that we are willing and able to beat them down with our fists bloodied" Sour looks passed through the Members present as they heard this, "_But,_ we also need to show them that we aren't mindless apes who only know how to shoot a gun. They'll know the might of the Shinobi soon enough"

Ana remained silent as she exited the Guardian Council Chambers, excusing herself politely and passing several Service Guards stationed outside the Chamber doors. As she walked Ana truly wondered how much the Shinobi changed, and how much they stayed the same.

_Turian Controlled Space_

_Galedia_

Zaeed glared at the two alien soldiers standing there, an angry grimace on his face as he tried to stifle the itch his cuffed wrists were experiencing.

The aliens had subjected him to pitiful levels of interrogations, it was as if electrocution and psychological isolation was all they could think off! Zaeed was an ANBU Operative, assigned on board an AMBU Cruiser tasked with providing support to an R&amp;D fleet. He was iffy on the details but he knew enough and by the fact that he was held prisoner in a quaint holding cell, Zaeed knew it was time for war to come a calling. The young male grinned to himself, for an ANBU being a prisoner was the greatest thing an enemy could do to you.

He schooled his face however when the door to his cell opened and the male slacked into his chair, looking mildly bored at everything.

The alien stood a few scant metres away from him and Zaeed was pleased to see a type of bandage around the aliens arm, a..._gift_ Zaeed had bestowed on him. The alien growled and made a bunch of squawking sounds, the alien pointed at himself and made two separate squawks, the first note being higher pitched and the second somewhere near where Doh would be, Zaeed didn't know the various notes of music as well as he actually cared.

The alien continued to squawk its strange language again and Zaeed looked at him as if he was crazy. Did it honestly believed he would repeat after him?

"Sorry Crow-face but I ain't a fucking bird" The alien looked confused and Zaeed hardly resisted the idea to laugh into the air. Zaeed's efforts however were rewarded with a punch to the face. Zaeed shook his head and turned to the alien, its mandibles spread open in anger. The human raised an eyebrow, daring him to continue and he did. He pounded on his chest, harder and harder but each time he did, he got closer and closer before in a flash Zaeed had headbutted the alien in the chest. The full force of it was enough to push his chair forward and the ANBU operative found himself falling forward and onto the Turian.

A series of squawks later two aliens guards stormed into the doorway and grabbed his chair, flinging it back and causing Zaeed to hit it painfully. The previous alien stood up and glared at Zaeed to which the ANBU operative merely grinned at before both the alien and the guards stormed out. Zaeed's grin stayed put as he fished something out of his mouth. It was a chip, no longer than his index finger and Zaeed was staring at an insertion point located on his handcuffs.

"Well, thanks crow-face" Zaeed grinned before sliding the piece in and rounding it inside the lock. The handcuffs clacked onto the ground and the ANBU operative promptly vanished into the shadows.

Now the fun began.

_Planet Lao_

_Platoon Jonin C, ICRU Bravo Company; 2nd Platoon_

C ducked into an open room fast enough to avoid a barrage of bullets, the man behind him hadn't been as lucky. His chakra shields flared for a moment before they failed and the metal projectiles slammed into his body. The Shinobi was knocked back into the ground, dead.

2nd Platoon gritted their teeth as they engaged the aliens in fierce indoor battle. C had learned the hard way, though the aliens were easy picking in an open field, i doors their discipline and tactics held true against his Shinobi. The close quarters would have allowed the Shinobi better use of their jutsu, that is if they didn't get shot first. As it was the aliens were hanging in several sections of the building, each section only having one corridor where his Shinobi were being funneled into for easy pickings. His men were forced to split up and their low numbers meant they couldn't just bull rush the enemy.

One of the aliens strange ball device rolled into his view and C's eyes flashed in fear. "Get down!" A bomb resounded over the small room and C felt his Shields crack before he was thrown into the side of a wall.

The Shinobi under his command cried out in alarm as their commanding officer slid down the wall with a thud. One Chuunin's broke off with assistance from his squad to check on him.

"Platoon Jonin C?" The Chuunin asked. It took a moment but C replied with a groggy groan. The Chuunin's face immediately lit up into relieved expression as C brought his gun up and it began pulsing with chakra.

"What's the enemy doing?" C asked. The Chuunin straightened his face and nodded.

"They're still hunkered down down the hallway and we can't do much against them. Sir! We need orders!" C acknowledged him and straightened himself, that is until another explosions riddled the building. C dropped right back down into a crouch and the Jonin saw one or two bodies flying outside the room he was in.

C immediately slid into cover and peered down the hallway. The aliens were now pushing forward and C had little options. "Get the men ready, if they push anymore we'd be forced out of the building" the Chuunin nodded and the Shinobi's were rallied with a single call.

"Move it!" C hissed. The Shinobi obliged and sprang out of cover, their guns flaring with lightning rounds and wind rounds. The aliens advance halted, the Shinobi pushed forward though not without casualties. Three Shinobi's Shields had been gutted and before they could get into cover their bodies had been littered with holes.

"Tags out with em" Two Shinobi at the front pulled out an exploding tag each, both of them were pasted on a thin piece of metal. A small surge of chakra later and at the front of each piece a long blade popped out not unlike a standard kunai. The Shinobi threw them forward and they both found purchase, one against a wall and another embedded deep into one of the aliens. The resulting explosions was devastating. The aliens who had discarded the small pieces of metal as inconsequential found themselves amidst a fiery blaze as Fire and Explosions riddled the group of soldiers. Their momentary stun allowed C to push forward with his men and quickly they had eliminated them.

"Check the rooms, make sure none are left!" C ordered. The remaining Shinobi, which C was dismayed to see was only five, nodded and set to work while C silently mourned the loss of lives. Several calls rang out from his radio seal, all of which affirmatives from the teams he sent out to deal with the rest of the forces inside the building. Casualties were overwhelming and C knew that 2nd Platoon was gonna have to get used to new faces.

"This is Second Platoon to Bravo Command, the last pocket of resistance on 1st street had been dealt with" C reported. There was brief static before he got a reply.

'_Good Work C. Good news from the higher ups, 3rd Fleets already here and cleaning house on top.' _The familiar voice of Suiren eased C's tension more so than the good news did, '_Saddle up C with the loss of their fleet the aliens began running off into the forests, we'll have to deal with them. Sensors are being offloaded from the reinforcements so you don't have to worry about any extra work"_

C acknowledged her and sighed before dropping the transmission. The male turned to one of the alien weapons and picked it up. Asymmetrical warfare was something the Shinobi excelled in. Enemies were always stronger than you, better than you or outnumbered you, so Shinobi had studied the principle of evolution. They thrived off of a challenge and what these aliens lack in the Shinobi aspect, they excelled in their own and C knew only the Shinobi would truly benefit from this war.

Because in the end the Shinobi thrive in war.

_Codex: Colonial Rebellion_

_The Colonial Rebellion was a bloody five-year conflict consisting with 23 of the outer colonies rebelling against the main 10 inner colonies. The fighting was caused due to colonists wanting claim Sovereignty from the United Shinobi Government. The Shinobi Government had originally not perceived the rebellion as a threat, however, when several major population centres began exploding into fiery carcasses while ships started disappearing off their plan patrol routes._

_The NSA sent a Battle Group to deal with the outer colonies but fierce hit and run tactics had left them severely crippled from continuing. For a year after that the USG and the Rebels were merely biding time before in bold and terrifying strategy the Rebels invaded one of the Inner Worlds using a fleet of captured ships and their own small fleets._

_The NSA reacted accordingly. The Rebels proved to be a far more deadlier foe, one willing to use every means of victory and were undaunted with civilian casualties, this however got no sympathy from the NSA, and most POW's found themselves placed in the harshest conditions a Shinobi could fathom._

_This long divided hatred continued to spread between the Inner and Outer Colonies as the war dragged on before it finally ended with a devastating strike against the Rebels main base of Mindoir._

_To this day animosity between Inner Colony members and Outer Colony members existed especially with the methods the Outer Colonies employed. While the Outer Colonies were now on a tighter leash, though with the Passing of the Colonial Act, they were allowed to govern themselves and their people how they saw fit, an illusion of Sovereignty for them but nonetheless was welcomed all the same._

_Codex: NSA_

_The Navy of the Shinobi Alliance, better known as the NSA, is the Military arm of the Shinobi Expansion. The Military is largely Dominated with large Space-capable ships due in part to their use in Space Combat._

_The NSA is different from most Military Organisation in the fact that it is a separate entity from the USG and that their members are apart of the governing body. In this case the NSA is much political as it is military._

_The NSA main task is exploration, defence and research. The NSA has several branches, some culminating the independent fleets of special forces or were listed civilian in nature. This is result to the large amount of funding the NSA received upon it creation and continued funding as it endeavored to the stars._

_Codex: Service Guards_

_The Service Guards are a group of soldiers devoted to the Guardians of the Nine. The Service Guards isn't a voluntary force, their members are handpicked from the several branches of the NSA and the AFSA, most being from Special Forces branches._

_The Service Guards are respected as an elite squad capable of any mission due in part to their mix members. The Service Guard act as both the Bodyguards of the Nine as well as a ceremonial group for most Shinobi Events. _

_Upon introduction of the Service Guards, new members are given a Silver Beret with the Kanji of the Bijuu crossed by two Kunai. This Beret represent the Service Guards Position in the Shinobi World and most deem it an honor to wear them._

**Robert Williams! Why?! **

**Anyways so I got this out. I was watching Suits and I made Takashi into that somehow, I like him :). First Contact Scenaro is taking wayyy to long in my opinion. So hopefully a few more chapters and we can move on from this.**

**I'll ask for a vote, who wants The Shinobi to continue War or to Go into peaceful negotiations? I have a plan for both, one is linear then the other but you get the gist,**


	7. Chapter 7

Rear Admiral Teuchi Senju rubbed his chin in deep thought as he sat on the command chair of the NSA _Tears of Regret_ the flagship of the 1st Royal Fleet. The _Tears of Regret_ was a Battlecruiser, similar in size to a Dreadnought but held enough guns to wage a small war on its own. His fleet of 54 ships had four battlecruisers, five dreadnought, thirty cruisers and fifteen frigates.

Teuchi was contemplating his next choices as reports came in from both Groundside forces and Naval forces. The losses on the ground were 'acceptable' and the planet had been retaken with the few concentrated resistance the aliens could pull up were destroyed instantly. Teuchi halted his line of thoughts as he forgot the proper name for the aliens, _Turians._ After an ANBU Operative had appeared out of nowhere and dropped a living alien on his doorstep, as well as another surviving Turian from the Planet Lao, Teuchi wasted no time in ordering T&amp;I to deal with the two. The results had been startling but the Yamanaka still had much they wanted to sift through in the alien heads, though they got what Teuchi was most interested in. _Information._

The Shinobi now knew how their enemy operates, how they thought, their government and their people. In Teuchi's eyes they were completely alien to the Shinobi but they shared a common trait, they were a Militaristic regime. Teuchi could connect the dots between the sudden attack on Captain Rentaro's fleet and he suspected that their militarism paranoia had kicked in and elimination of unknown threats became prevalent over peaceful encounters. As a Military man, Teuchi respected them but from a Civilian standpoint, he had little to actually stop him from outright hating the aliens. But his hate was nothing compared to the reaction _actual_ civilians had, they were practically bloodthirsty. So for as much as Teuchi knew about these Turians, he found little reason to feel guilty as he would no doubt be leading his fleet to war soon.

"Sir a Transport Ring has been built onto the surface of Lao" Teuchi turned to his XO, Captain Deller, the son of an Elemental Countries native and a Western native, reported. Teuchi gave his thanks as he brought the reports up on the Holoprojection. The Transport Ring was a large ring dominated by the Hiraishin formula, the ring was used mostly to transport supplies and personnel between planets acting much like the ground equivalent of FTL.

"Send a message to the Homeworld, tell them to send supplies immediately, we'll have to deal with the damage soon enough" Teuchi said calmly. The Naval officers nodded their heads and many moved quickly to send the transmission.

"Sir the NSA _Kurama _has returned from their scouting mission. The Captain reports no enemy units so far" Teuchi nodded his head and keyed several commands onto his armrest, almost immediately _The Kurama_ took a position next to the _Tears of Regrets_ and waited patiently, like a lion waiting for the foolish hunter to come into its abode. Teuchi eyed it passingly before returning to his work. His mission was simple, secure Lao, eliminate the alien threat and then, like the old saying 'An eye for an eye', he'd take one of the alien colonies. Just that they didn't know where that colony was. Oh the aliens they captured knew where it was but the _exact_ coordinates? Their own mapping system seem to incorporate these 'Mass Relays' and considering what had happened to the R&amp;D fleet, Teuchi wasn't up to sending his fleet through it. Right now the Yamanaka's raiding the alien minds were trying to find any star charts or the like they could use but the process was slow going, these aliens minds stored memory differently than how a human did.

_"_Sir!" The Rear Admiral of the 1st fleet turned to the Ensign that called for him calmly, appearing every bit the calm and collected person an Admiral should be. "We've just received a signal from an ANBU operative located at the gamma quadrant, Sir." Teuchi raised an eyebrow. The gamma quadrant was a ways away from Shinobi Controlled space, what was an ANBU doing there?

"Patch it through" Teuchi ordered. The Ensign nodded as he pressed several rounds before the scratchy voice of an ANBU operative came through.

"_This is ANBU Operative Designation Sentinel to any NSA ships, please respond. Authorisation Code; C-231-432-759, over." _Teuchi quickly replied, hands typing away commands onto his armrest for the fleet to ready itself.

"Sentinel, this is Rear Admiral Teuchi of the Royal 1st Fleet responding to you in orbit of the Planet Lao please state your business" Teuchi waited patiently as a pause was made before the voice spoke again.

"_Rear Admiral, Sir I request immediate assistance to my location, Sir" _

"For what purpose?"

"_For an Invasion, Sir!"_

_In Orbit of Galedia_

The world of Galedia wasn't very interesting. Besides the fact that the planet provided many rich minerals and metal mining to help feed the Turian economy and War Machine, it does not change the fact that the planet itself did not give the Hierarchy anything more from what it already had and so the planet itself held very little defences.

The only ships defending it were a token force of cruisers. So that was why when a fleet of warships appeared over the colony world, was the fleet horribly outgunned, that was why when the enemy warships opened fire that the fleet found itself nothing but chunks of metal in space, so that was why the few armed soldiers on the planet found themselves slaughtered by heavy orbital bombardment and enemy ground forces and so that was why Galedia had fallen to the Shinobi Alliance.

_Citadel Controlled Space_

_Citadel_

The council of Citadel space, Collectively known as the big three, were currently silent as they watched the recording of one of the Turian soldiers on Galedia as they fought against the Asari-Like soldiers storming their shambles of a base. They watched, silently, in morbid horror when the Turian soldiers found himself frozen and his very own shadow reached up to strangle him before he fell over, dead. The councillors were frozen in shock as the aliens rampaged through the Turian lines, lines that _should _beunbreakable, unflinching. But yet those very same lines were torn to disarray as troops tried to last as long as they could while others were left dead or dying on the ground. When the camera of the already dead Turian cut off abruptly, from what the councillors could tell was a boot to the face, did they regained their wit to properly understand what had happened.

"Care to explain, Sparatus?" Tevos asked. The salarian councilor, Agall Mumnor was taking the news better than the other two, most definitely STG had informed him of the colony being besieged, though he was still shaken, obviously the STG did not inform him of the _technology_ these aliens possessed.

"I am learning that myself Tevos." Sparatus said defensively. "The primarchs have just given me the details regarding the aliens race. I'm sending the information now" The two other Councilors brought their omni tools up and read through the information. Tevos especially was unpleased.

"You attacked a new space faring race" She accused. Sparatus spread his mandibles open, obviously disbelieving in the fact that she focused on _that_ rather than what they were doing to the colony.

"They had activated an inactive Mass Relay which is against Citadel law, we were merely upholding our responsibilities as the police force of the galaxy" Sparatus declared. Tevos didn't seem convinced.

"Perhaps we should revise the act considering the inactive relays? Redetermine proper protocols in light of," Agall took a deep breath as he turned back to the recording, "recent events"

_"_Yes perhaps we should" Tevos agreed though she was still glaring at Sparatus. The Turian was sweating a bit, the fear of him losing his position and being remembered in history as the one who had been in power during a diplomatic scandal was _disconcerting_ to say the least.

"These aliens posses technology unheard off by Citadel races" Tevos admitted as she read reports on these aliens who had made a fierce counterattack against the Turians. "It says here from the initial report that these new species do not use Eezo as a power source"

Agall's eyes took on a certain gleam as he as well stumbled upon the report, his mind reeling at the scientific possibilities. "What of their weapons? Their shield system and FTL capabilities?" Agall asked. Sparatus bowed his head in apology and Agall realised that the Turians probably didn't know anymore than they did which was surprising given the Salarians passive spying on all other races. Though the STG team on Galedia had to escape due to the massive war fleet in orbit.

"We should send a emissary immediately to ease tensions between the two-"

"NO!" Sparatus yelled. "Are you mad woman? We'd appear weak compared to these creatures. It'd create instability in Citadel space if this were to happen." Sparatus argued.

Tevos looked like she was about to argue but then Agall spoke up, "He's right Tevos. The political backlash from this won't only affect the Turians but also the Citadel. People will begin to question our authority if this continues." Tevos turned to Agall, her eyes wide in shock.

"Agall you can't seriously be meaning we go to war?" Agall turn to her, he seemed grim as he responded.

"Only option, peace would lead to questions, aliens just took a Turian homeworld, Turian hatred pronounce, many would not be pleased. Peace? Civil war at best, our heads at worst. No. War for only now, quell the new species before they could properly affect us"

Tevos was gaping as she stared at her two colleagues. "You'd make us look like antagonists" She rebuked. Agall shook his head and Sparatus was just quiet as his counterpart spoke for him.

"Probable. The thought has reached my mind. However the new species are proving a threat and through the small glimpse of their technology, they are quite formidable. Turian acted on responsibility, new species attacked Turian colony, Citadel forces united help defend their allies. Though may not get on new species good graces we will only further our own status in Citadel space"

Tevos was biting the inside of her cheek, though she saw where Agall was speaking from she could not risk the Asari republics by dragging them into this war and it backfiring. However if the Turians won then the Asari's would lose face. "Think about the technology they could offer. Eezo-less powered engines and weapons"

"When they join the Citadel, they would be forced to share their technology with the galactic community, lest they lose face anymore than they will after the war" Sparatus spoke up this time with Agall silently agreeing. Tevos rubbed her head as a headache found its way on her face. The only redeeming part of this was that Agall seemed less than pleased with his logical thinking and Sparatus just looked tired, no doubt the Primarchs were collectively chewing each other out on losing Galedia.

"All in favor?" Sparatus asked. As one the three councilors brought their hands up, two of them sure that they could bring this new species down a peg and then establishing peaceful relations by subjugation into the Citadel ranks. The Salarians will get new technology, the Turians would maintain their responsibility and the Asari can smooth out edges in their beginning relationship with the new species. While the galaxy would see the strength of a united Citadel Council.

A win-win situation, sadly they were basing this on their hundreds of years of dominance in the galaxy. Their complacency at being at the top of the food chain had dulled their wits and thus deluded them into thinking they were the Alpha. But they would soon learn, that the people of the Shinobi had fought against gods and demons and had emerged not only the strong and mighty victors but continuously growing their own power.

They were no longer Alpha. Merely ants to the giant.

_In Orbit of Galedia_

_Rear Admiral Teuchi_

_NSA Tears of Regret_

Teuchi was pleased. The colony that they had jumped into was lightly guarded and thus the Shinobi had suffered no casualties in eliminating local resistance though the colonists were banning together and forming a militia of sorts to combat the invading Shinobi, Teuchi wasn't all to worried. Shinobi civilians never really sat still when somebody was taking their homes and that happened more often than not so his men were more than equipped to deal with the upset colonists.

"Rear Admiral Teuchi. All ground units reporting green on all objectives. The majority of the population has taken up arms against our forces however they provide minimal threat to the ground forces" Captain Deller reported. Teuchi nodded at his XO, pleased with the recent events. He knew the taking of the Turian colony was a declaration of war and despite himself Teuchi felt a small surge of excitement before it was quelled by a heavy hand.

"Sir we just received new orders!" Teuchi blinked and turned to the Ensign. _Right._ Yamanaka seals are really the work of magic. "Patch it through"

What Teuchi expected to see was Vice Admiral Sato Nara standing there but instead to the grizzled veterans shock the person who stood was not the ornately dressed Vice Admiral but rather a gruff looking brown haired male, dressed neatly in a bleach white uniform with grey stripes outlining the outfit. But the stark difference of uniforms wasn't what caught his attention, it was the insignia on the man's left arm, a nine-tailed fox having its large gaping maw over a ball of purple chakra. The Insignia for the Ninth and Most powerful member in the Guardian Nine.

"Rear Admiral Teuchi a pleasure to meet you," Takashi began, "I hope you don't mind but I will be arriving to your coordinates shortly, two days at the shortest give or take a couple of hours"

Teuchi blinked, more at the fact that he was talking to a Member of the Nine than that he was going to be in the same system as them. "Of course not Saika-San" The Rear Admiral replied. A sour look past through the Ninth members face before it smoothed out.

"Good"

"If I may Sir." Teuchi waited for a confirmation and a slight nod of Takashi's head gave him that. "Is there a reason as to why you will be accompanying us?"

A twinkle entered Takashi's eyes as he cupped up his chin, a slow smile on his face that unnerved Teuchi. "You know Rear Admiral in my time I have learned to be many things. How to be a soldier, a mechanic, a horrible boyfriend and so many more but you know what is the one thing I learned in my years that has never failed me before?" Teuchi leaned forward and he saw some of his men doing the same, Takashi smiled ruefully at their reactions, "That one thing was learning how to be a stubborn asshole"

_Codex:ANBU_

_The ANBU are the most elites of the AFSA (Armed Forces of the Shinobi Alliance) and are trained for a myriad of operations. Though they maintain their roots as a covert and espionage outfit the ANBU are now a fully independent force from the AFSA however holds close ties to the T&amp;I Division given their primary directives. _

_Following Space Flight the heads of ANBU had established a separate division of ANBU called the STORM that acts as the ANBU's fleet, maintains ships and mans deep space '__**Quiet Stations'**__. ANBU Operatives and like wise their storm counterparts are expected to make a Blood oath to not divulge any information, critical or otherwise, to an enemy in an event of capture and indeed most ANBU are trained to be completely resistant to torture and would rather kill themselves than allow a Yamanaka to enter their brain._

_In this case all ANBU operatives are widely regarded as the best of the best and like their namesake were a shadowed threat that made even the greatest of tyrants wary. _

_There has been great controversy regarding ANBU training methods as a new recruit had a 25.5% chance to die during their first week with a steadily increasing percentile as their training continues. Though ANBU trainers try their best to limit the in-training deaths it does not change the fact that on average only 15% of New Recruits ever survive their training to become fully fledged ANBU operatives. Though questionable, arguably, their operatives are the fiercest of Shinobi._

_It is popularly discussed by conspiracy theorists that the harsh training was a way to limit the number of ANBU operatives as many of the Shinobi Alliance would agree, if by any chance ANBU would go rogue, there would be uncountable losses to the Alliance before they could even fire off a shot._

**Author Note: So people wanted a war, well ok then. For any of you questioning why the council would so willingly want to send a wa fleet well...I think I explained it up there. They would lose face and appear weak in front of the other species who they don't really have the well of a handle with I mean, the batarians, the Krogan, the mercenary bands. Politics man :/ **


	8. Chapter 8

_Citadel Fleet_

_Destiny Ascension_

_Matriarch Lidanya_

Lidanya typed away a few commands onto her omni tool. Going over the 60 ships under her command she frowned slightly. She could hardly see the need for such a large force in exterminating this new galactic player. Her opinion on Turians weren't as high as that of her own species however being the one in charge of the Citadel fleet she had grown to respect Turian professionalism and it was her honest opinion that the only reason they had lost Galedia was due to how lightly defended the Colony was. Surely an Eezo-less race couldn't be that powerful, they probably didn't have biotics either! Lidanya saw this all as a waste of time, the Turians should be able to handle it on their own and the new race would either be brought into the Citadel or shunned from Citadel Space like the Quarians.

"Matriarch we are closing in on the solar system" Lidanya gave the Asari equivalent of a nod before standing up and turning to her communications officer.

"Contact the Turians and Salarians, they know what to do" The Comm. Officer nodded and keyed in the respective races. The council had left specific instructions that the fleet would open communications with the aliens together, showing a unified front in hopes to get the new aliens to back down without bloodshed.

When the ship suddenly dropped into the solar system, quite a ways away from the colony planet of Galedia, Lidanya's orders were quick and calm "Full burn towards the colony" The Helmsman nodded and the Destiny Ascension moved forward, its escorts of cruisers keeping close to her as the fleet followed. Lidanya stood calmly as the ships neared the Colony world, no doubt awaiting for the new species to move forward and meet the Citadel fleet with their own warships.

But as she neared the colony, she noticed the ships that were blockading the planet and couldn't help but raise the Asari equivalent to an eyebrow. They were numerous but she counted only 36, she couldn't quite tell what class they were but she would have guesses the ship in the centre formation would be a dreadnought, maybe a little bit bigger than an average one. However as the Destiny closed in she felt her eyes widen slightly as the ship continued to grow, nearly matching the Destiny Ascension but her jaw fell when the fleet stood a few Kilometres away from the alien fleet and she could see as clear as day the behemoth that was standing in front of her.

Suddenly she didn't know what her odds were as she watched the monstrosity of military design. "Open channels. Scan through every standard and non-standard radio frequencies" The asari nodded as she worked diligently, ignoring the shocked mumblings of her colleagues.

Almost immediately a holo projection of an asari-like person manifested itself in front of her while the projections of her Turian and Salarian colleagues appeared next to her. The creature that stood in front of her was strange looking. It had a patch of brown fur on its head and one pair of eyes much like that of an asari. It was dressed in some official uniform, white with grey outlines and she herself was dazzled at its ornate style. Comparing the creatures bulky frame to that of an asari which was collectively agreed upon being 'feminine' she deduced the creature was male.

"_I am Takashi Saiko, please state your business_" Lidanya blinked, surprised that she had understood him before she reverted back to her professional stance.

"I am Matriarch Lidanya of the Asari Republics, next to me are my colleagues the Turian Admiral Marvus Vakarian of the Turian Hierarchy and The Salarian STG Captain Torin Vaelbani of the Salarian Union. We are part of the Citadel Fleet responding to your invasion of the Turian Colony Galedia" To the creatures credit he didn't seem at all fazed with the two new species that he would have surely never seen before and instead remained stony face albeit with a slight quirk of his lips.

"By order of the Citadel Council Takashi Saika, you and your fleet are to stand down and relinquish control of the Turian colony world and be subjugated to Citadel Law" Lidanya ordered with as much authority as she could muster.

The alien male blinked and Lidanya was struck at how Asari-like it was. For a few scant minutes only silence filled Lidanya's bridge as she waited patiently for a reply. At the corner of her eyes she noticed both Marvus and Torin awkwardly fiddled with their respective uniforms.

The alien was cupping its chin, looking thoughtfully up at whatever that was above him. Lidanya was sure the male was just playing them, baiting them to any type of reaction for him to use but Lidanya would not give him what he wanted and she was sure her colleagues would not as well. "The Shinobi Alliance," he finally began, his voice an odd chipper tone, "do not know this Citadel Council nor is it in any way attached to this government, as such we do not answer to them and thus you carry no _recognised_ authority here" The way he said 'recognised' sounded sinister to Lidanya and the Asari realised she wasn't dealing with a standard military officer, he was something far more than that, perhaps intelligence? Or their own version of SPECTREs?

"That does not change the fact that you attacked a member of the Citadel colonies, continued aggression will result in open conflicts" Lidanya said sternly, being a Matriarch she had adopted a more motherly approach in most situations.

"Funny, it is within my opinion that the Turians fired first, with your logic shouldn't the Turians be subjugated to Shinobi Law" The man replied. His voice sarcastic as he peered straight through Lidanya. The Asari noticed Marvus flinched out of the corner of her eye.

"The Turians were merely upholding council law, your race is still new and needed to be educated on the dangers of activating a dormant Mass Relay" Marvus had spoken up this time, understandably.

The alien turned to him in what would amount to an annoyed glance, a flicker of amusement in his eyes as he addressed the Turian, "Oh yes, trying to kill us was the perfect way to _educate _us. Tell me when you teach your children math do you do it with the threat of a gun or a explosive induced headache?" Marvus frowned and was about to make a retort before Torin interrupted him, impatience in his voice.

"There is no further need for these talk, either lower your weapons or the Citadel Fleet shall open fire. Your fleet is severely outnumbered and you can surely see you cannot outlast three civilisation in an all out war" Torin was sure the alien was merely biding time for reinforcements or for their ground troops to properly dig in on the colony. As a Salarian he saw no point in talking and should instead attack the fleet before they could properly retaliate. In his mind the battle had already been won, statistically the enemy fleet could not overpower them even with their unknown technology and Torin could tell his colleagues agreed with him.

To their surprise the alien threw his head back and laughed, clutching his chest and looking like he was about to keel over at Torin's threat. The Salarian was confused, he didn't know why the alien was laughing. When the alien finally stopped did he understand. It was a trait that the Salarian had noticed in many species evolved from harsh worlds, a stare that meant that you were a prey and he was the predator but the look that this Takashi was giving him was more akin to an apex predator toying with its food. It was foreboding, a promise of death. For a moment Torin recalculated his odds of survival.

"You should not underestimate the Shinobi. If you threaten us, we will fight back and we _will_ crush your people into smithereens" The alien declared before the transmission was roughly cut off. Lidanya ran her hand over her head crests in exasperation. Her orders were clear, capture or elimination was at her discretion. Now, there was only one option to choose from.

"Order all ships to battle stations" Her colleagues winked off beside her and in what would amount to practised ease, the Citadel formed a tight formation around the _Destiny Ascension_, Turian Dreadnoughts warmed up their main guns while Asari and Salarian frigates launched forward, their GARDIAN lasers prepared to rain a red hot death on the enemy ships, while they were followed closely by Turian fighters.

Lidanya watched all of this calmly. She had felt no worry or cause for concern, she was expecting a quick and decisive victory that swayed to her favor. What she had not realised though was that the Shinobi would not be willing to give her that victory without at the very least giving her hell for it...well unluckily for her Shinobi never did do things at the least.

"Matriarch enemy ships launching fighters! There's fifteen squadrons...no twenty five, no its...its, dear goddess" The Ensign brought her hand to her mouth in muted horror as a literal sea of enemy fighters, blocky and sleek, launched out of every ship with a hangar bay, there were even some frigates launching a small group of fighters as they raced to meet the Citadel Fleets forward force.

And that they did.

In a fiery display of explosions, lightning and fire Turian fighters engaged the Shinobi's own. The enemy shields held admirably well against the Turian weapons while the enemies silver lance of energy broke through the fighters shields and demolished them in two hits. The Frigates found their GARDIAN lasers being wholly overworked as swarms of ships converged on them, blasting holes into their hulls or destroying their engines to make it easier for the fighters to lay waste on the frigates.

While that was happening the enemy ships turned their weapons onto the Citadel Fleet. Lidanya gritted her teeth and made to put a stop to that, "All ships open fire!" The Citadel Fleet responded immediately, large slugs of molten metal raced past the expanse of space and crashed against the alien ships, creating chemical dust clouds where they impacted.

Lidanya was awe stricken when the largest of the ships, the behemoth, raced forward through the dust clouds and fired a strange projectile unlike their fighters white lance of energy, if Lidanya paid enough attention she'd have thought the projectile was solid rock but she couldn't because it had already impacted against the _Destiny Ascension _and the Asari found herself being launched into the air by the sheer kinetic energy of the hit.

"Shields at 65! It would have been a lot of worse if the projectile hadn't nicked one of our frigates" Lidanya lifted herself up unsteadily and in one hard glare straightened her posture to a rigid and professional stance. She now recognised the power of this species and would face them like a true commander.

"How many enemy ships did we take down from the initial barrage!" She ordered. An Ensign hovering over a terminal was quick to report.

"4 enemy cruisers have been destroyed while two are disabled" Lidanya bit her bottom lip, those were good numbers. Now all she had to worry about were the thirty ships still operational.

"Matriarch their firing!" Lidanya turned towards her viewscreen and opened her mouth in horror as the enemy ships first salvo impacted her fleet...and decimated it. The white lances of energy that impacted Cruisers and Dreadnoughts destroyed their shields or greatly damaged ships wide systems while the same rocky projectiles crushed frigates and took a chunk off other ship shields. But what had really shocked her was when she saw a large _fiery serpent_ spewed from a dreadnought sized ship with enough side cannons to shoot down 20 ships either side, suddenly ram into one of the Dreadnoughts by the _Destiny's_ side and utterly destroyed. She could hear the screams of the ships personnel as the ungodly creature wrapped itself around the ship and crushed it.

"Matriarch thirteen ships are either destroyed or disabled while several others are reporting minor to serious damage!" Lidanya was shocked, her fleet though still strong had taken a far greater beating than what the enemy fleet should have been able to deliver.

"Get the ships to tighten formations! Call the Frigates back their own Fighter Control! Get bombers on those dreadnoughts before they can cause anymore trouble!" Lidanya ordered. The ships followed their commanders orders and began reforming in an attempt to launch another salvo at the enemy fleet before their dreadnoughts or Cruisers could fire again.

But what they did not understand was that sometimes the greatest threat was in the smallest of sizes.

_Captain Haru Dragneel_

_Tobacco Squadron_

_Null-Class HOUND Fighter/Interceptors_

Captain Haru Dragneel grinned happily as she cracked her neck, her long light pink weaving around her neck as she clamped strong and yet delicate fingers on her Fighters control yolk.

With confidence that belied her years of experience the woman screened her fighters into the heat of battle, launching her secondary Lightning Cannons into two Turian fighters trying to shoot down a HOUND fighter.

Haru grinned in undisguised glee as her skills easily outclassed every other Shinobi pilot. Her family, the Dragneels were a respected family on Earthland and kept close ties to many of the original families of Fairy Tail. Initially after the disbandment of Guild pending the formation of the NSA, the Dragneels had a long standing relationship with the Military second to only the Scarlets (Who were once rumored to be descendants of escaped Uzumaki's). Though the Dragneel's military history had always been in the army trotting MAC machine guns , she herself was the first to have joined the Navy and she had shattered her fathers skepticism as she smashed through her classes and was now proving a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

Her hands danced across the consoles as her squadron of _NULL_ fighters formed up beyond her. "Alright boy you know the mission!" Haru spoke through the Pilot favored Yamanaka Telepathic seals located on the collar of her Flight suit.

"_Yes Ma'am_" They replied in unison. Haru brought her slightly-larger-than-average fighter on a course towards one of the dreadnoughts in the enemy formation. The Dragneel slowed her breaths as she thumbed the button on her control yolk, slow easy breath as the chakra readings on her terminals blinked a full green.

In that moment all of her training as a _NULL _pilots had been recognised, all the blood and sweat, extreme Zero-G training and grueling flight simulations, the pink-haired female was grinning like a mad woman remembering those moments.

"Launching Fox-1!" Her thumb lurched forward, the world around her became agonisingly slow as she watched her fellow _NULL_s doing the same. The very tip of their aircrafts glowing a luminescent blue as their large frames weaved through the battle virtually unnoticed. Humorously she spotted one _NULL_ fighter level itself with her, the emblem of the _NULLs _on his right wing. Quietly, Haru marveled at it as the discharge lights of her cockpit blinked red.

The emblem was that of a blue ball of chakra flanked by wind and fire motivated with the earth and water underneath it. The crown jewel of Shinobi enginuity.

A weaponized Rasengan.

In one mighty shot, Haru's fighter shuddered as it launched its mighty payload, the ball no bigger than a fist joined by its brethren as they simultaneously impacted against one dreadnought, tearing through metal and causing the ship to implode, its wreckage of twisted metal slamming into the ships nearest to it while two valiant cruisers trying to defend the large ship were obliterated to nothing but space and dust.

Haru felt her lips quirk upwards at the display of destruction, the smile having forced itself up long ago. In one mighty turn she had soared past the dead ship and pressed her thumb into her Yamanaka seal, breathless at the scene.

"That's strike one! All _NULLs_ its open season! Have fun" There were several cheers as the fighters broke off, moving out admirably as they striked down any and all targets of interest.

In one swift and calculated strike, the _NULLs _had lived so through to their legacy of sheer power that a blond man in heaven had shed a tear.

_NSA Tears of Regret_

_Takashi Saika_

"It would appear we are unneeded" Takashi said ruefully as he eyed the battle ahead. Though the Shinobi were losing ships and on a long scale would have probably been overwhelmed, if it weren't for the new prototype fighters, then the battle would have taken far longer.

"Perhaps we had overestimated out opponents?" Teuchi murmured, still slightly uncomfortable at the proximity of Takashi.

"Yes and here I thought I was being smart at making up this plan" It was a simple plan, half of the fleet would meet the enemy while the other half would hide behind several planets, all engines and power cores offline. After Takashi had made the call and ended it the maneuver was _supposed_ to have been activated...if it had been needed.

Now Takashi and the half of the fleet was holding ground at the Mass Relay, picking off any ships trying to retreat. The maneuver was now practically dead considering the Shinobi forces have now engaged at Knife range with the enemy ships and if they did move in it'd be at the threat of hitting a friendly.

"This is kinda boring" One of the ensigns muttered as he manned his station. Takashi grinned widely and made a perfect about face before heading towards a very special place on the ship.

"Rear Admiral if you'd be so kind I'd like to try something" Teuchi didn't even hesitate when he nodded his head and the Ninth member of the Guardians had left his breach with very explicit instructions.

Dutifully the NSA _Tears of Regret _oriented itself towards the Mass Relay. Its main gun heating up as a coil had been chambered into the weapon. There was a tense silence all around space as the crew of each ship stopped what they were doing and stared at the Flagship of the Fleet.

They watched as a bloody red mist began to ooze slightly out of the main weapon, they watched as the main gun glowed a hot yellow, the hardening seals barely able to stop the metal from melting at the sheer intensity. Then, as sudden as a blink, an exceptionally fast orb of purplish chakra was launched free, the dark color melding into the background of space as it crashed against the Mass Relay but not quite destroying but the explosion that happened after the impact sent the gyroscopic rings to crumble into the ball of eezo it orbited. Dangerously the energy levels of the Mass Relay spiked upwards, threatening to go supernova and destroy the entire solar system before a sudden shock wave had filled the void. The purple ball of chakra had yet to finish and a second explosion occurred, far more powerful than the first and it had sent the Mass Relay soaring out of the Solar System to explode harmlessly into deep space.

In one moment, whether knowingly or not, the Shinobi had declared war on all those living in Citadel Space. In a quick and decisive moment, the Citadel Council had realised the threat that hovered above them. Their ships now ran the risk of being obsolete, their soldiers once strong and captivating now coward as the enemy marched forward on a campaign of war.

This day marked the very first day that the Citadel Alliance found themselves regretting their decisions, as with the lost of their Flagship and the sudden disappearance of the Mass Relay, the Citadel now found themselves subject to a war of shadows and deadly games. It marked the first time a civilisation so mighty and powerful had challenged the might of all in Citadel Space and without even knowing the fundamental use of Eezo.

It marked the rise of the Shinobi Alliance.

It marked the rise of a New Galaxy.

_Codex: ICRU_

_Interstellar Combat Ready Unit are the Shinobi's answer to Zero-Gravity Infantry Combat. Members of the Interstellar Combat Ready Unit were originally brought together with a force of fifty conscripts that were part of the Civilian Militia Program. These Fifty conscripts were trained by ANBU Mid-Kage Milo 'Jackie' Thomas. The ANBU Kage trained them rigorously in Airborne Combat and Heliborne insertions into heavily defended enemy camps. Members of these early ICRU incarnation were expected to keep a strict training regime where their diets and movements were closely monitored for a year._

_These conscripts were adopted into the 7th Colony Defense Brigade (7 CDB) where they would serve with distinction for much through the Shinobi Colonisation period. _

_Ten Years after their induction they were finally given 'Elite' status with their very own Colors to present in battles and ceremonies. These new Elite troops were taken out of the 7 CDB and put into their own branch of the Military, the modern ICRU._

_Following their Elite Status the now dubbed ICRU were given their own Black Berets with their symbol being a Bayonet and Wings inscribing their superior skills in Infantry Combat and Aerial Insertions._

_To this day the ICRU training is comparable with ANBU training due to their close roots with the Military Branch. For one to enter the ICRU, they must first go through a preliminary exam consisting of a_ _team course that requires the group of soldiers to swim 500 meters, to climb a high tower, rappel down a tower and complete a 30 km run with a standard obstacle course and carry an "injured" teammate on a stretcher for the last 10 kilometers. The entire course is done in full battle order with packs packed with sandbags to reach the required weight requirement. _

_After this the members are place through two courses, Officer Training Course and Specialist Training Course that last about three years, the first year being in camp while the next two years are spent training on assigned posts and ships._

_The ICRU were famous for their ability to repel Boarding Parties and to Subsequently Board Enemy Ships but they held true to their roots and are instrumental in Airborne operations and Heliborne Insertions deep within enemy lines to take and hold Areas of Interests (AOI) while performing Guerilla Tactics to disorganized enemy movements._

_Codex: Infantry Regulate Assault Rifle and Mass Assault Chakra Conductive Weapons System (MAC Machine Gun)_

_Following the Shinobi war with the People of the West, who had been collectively known as the Independent Colonies, the Shinobi had respected the effectiveness of the hand held cannons and the people of the west had graciously accepted the task to create a working Chakra prototype for their new allies. _

_The result had been the very first Chakra Powered weapon that fed off the users Chakra to propel a projectile. The weapon had been accepted by the Shinobi Ranks and had been used extensively in the following Pirate Wars (See:The Rise of The D) where Shinobi voiced many major flaws in the design._

_The west took them to consideration and had thus created the modern IRAR, a short bullpup like design that was now powered by a Stone of Gelel generously provided by The Royal Family. The Rifle had become a treasured friend for the Armed Forces of the Shinobi, a ranged weapon that was ideal for both Urban and Jungle warfare. _

_As the years continued many variations were made such as the Mass Assault Chakra Conductive Weapons System that worked as a larger IRAR with an increased rate of fire and capable of more deadly elemental combinations._

**Authors Note: I dearly hope everyone know that Shepard does NOT exist in this world at least no in the same form. There is a Shepard but different name and origins as Canon Shep plus with the sudden war you can understand that Canon Mass Effect does not exist anymore. I'm not gonna make it a FIFTY CHAPTER WAR or anything, probably time skip through it but just to be clear. Do you understand these changes and accept them? Becuz with the sudden amount of people coming to read this story I'm starting to feel a weight on my shoulders. **

**On a side note. I'm proud of myself. I wrote this entire story on my glitchy ass phone. Its sad thats my greatest accomplishment .**


	9. Chapter 9

_Six Months after the events of Galedia_

_Citadel Space_

Citadel Space had once been revered as the pinnacle of Galactic civilisation, a place where hundreds of different species co-existed, sharing their culture (Note:Forcing in Batarian case) and opinions with the galaxy at large. Sentient species of all shapes and sizes united under the banner of the Citadel Council.

However, as united as they were politically, these factors had little to stop the stampede of people running to the Citadel, several species declaring neutrality and for all of them to kick start their war machine.

Turians and Asari completely disregard the Treaty of Farixen in regard to the new threat while Salarian STG teams with help from Turian Office of Technological Reconnaissance began scavenging _anywhere_ for useful technology to help in the war effort. While the big three prepared to fight a slightly even scaled war, (To the enemys favor) the member races of the Citadel Government began their own preparation regardless of their neutrality as no one wanted a repeat of the Rachni Wars.

The Hanar began fortifying their worlds with defense turrets while the Drell began assisting their masters by forming a Military Militia known simply as 'The Hand'. The Volus began hiding behind the Turians for protection while at the same time feeding off the sudden increase in economy to help fund the Turian war machine.

The only species who weren't adversely affected were the Batarian Hegemony who had capitalised the sudden disappearance of Citadel Presence in the Terminus system to increase their slave trade.

Out of all the happenings in the Galaxy, none had received as much news coverage as when the Citadel Council recalled _every_ active duty SPECTRE to assist in the war effort, forming teams of honorary SPECTREs in order to perform high-risk tactical missions.

To have the Lawless-Lawmen suddenly turn their collective sight on one enemy spoke volumes on how much of a threat they could be. Even the Krogan made mutterings on their homeworld Tuchanka, though, it was of the prospect of fighting a worthy enemy like in the Rachni wars. Some had even theorised that the Krogan would be uplifted again in order to fight the new enemy should the Turians be incapable of stopping them. This, in some cases, was what the Associate Races feared most in the next coming war; desperation.

They were going to see a lot of that.

The war with the Shinobi had begun.

_Thessia_

Captain Seryn Osman fiddled with her Assault Rifle as her team of Commandos loitered around the base that they were currently stationed. Originally she had been deployed in the Terminus system, scouting out the indigenous life and watching the Batarians but the sudden recall had sent hundreds of Asari Commandos displaced on Thessia, awaiting orders or assignments to be issues. Some lucky Commandos had been sent out with Turian and Salarian forces however most of the Commandos were merely wasting space until the Chat Forums finally decide on the best way for the Asari to contribute in the war.

Seryn just say it as a waste of time. Even if the civilian population were pissing themselves because they were incapable of believing the _Destiny Ascension_ had been destroyed, she was not a civilian. Unlike them she understood the _Ascension _as a ship, a large and expensive ship but a ship nonetheless and it could have been destroyed in a myriad of different ways, half of which weren't particularly impressive. It was in her opinion that eventually, the aliens would have to bow to the Citadel Council, surely they could not support a war with three species and they had even allowed a five month period of grace for their enemy to solidate their forces and secure their worlds. An idiotic and naive move, she believed that they were merely children poking against the flames of war.

To emphasize this, a group of heavily armed Asari Commandos walked by, talking loud enough for Seryn to hear that they were being deployed on one of the border worlds of Citadel Space.

The Captain sighed as she continued to calibrate her gun, briefly listening to the grunts of her soldiers sparring behind her when an Asari stepped next to her. "Captain Seryn? The Asari high command has called for you to the command room" Seryn looked to the Asari and frowned before sheathing her weapon on her back and nodding to her.

"Right. I know my way, there's no need to escort me" The Commander nodded before she turned and headed towards the sparring rings dotting the 'yard' of the base. Seryn watched her go for a moment before heading to the Command room. Passing by several Asari who stood straight in respect, the blue female entered the Command room to be greeted with an Asari, a non-Commando, handing her a small device used for secured chats with High command.

"This is Captain Seryn" She said into the device. The device hummed for a moment before a small holographic image of an Asari appeared.

"Captain Seryn," The Asari began, "Your unit is being reassigned to the Turian dreadnought _Broker_" Seryn nodded her head before asking the mandatory question of 'why'.

"You'll be assisting in the Turian counter-offensive against the Shinobi Alliance. Salarian STG units have been capable of finding a Mass Relay connecting to an area calculated to be within Shinobi Space." Seryn seemed surprise by this.

"Will there be any other Commando squads following us?" The Asari looked thoughtful for a moment before she answered.

"Fifty other squads are preparing to be shipped out as we speak. Most of them having had extensive tours in the Terminus System like you and your team have had" Seryn nodded in acceptance as she moved to hand the device back but before she could outstretch her hand a large shockwave filled the area around her. The Non-Commando Asari fell to the with a loud yelp as members of the Command room held onto anything nearby to stifle their own fall.

"What just happened!" The device yelled out, evidently the Asari who was talking to Seryn had felt it too.

"Something happened on the southern side of the planet! Transmissions of large explosions riddling major population centres! Wait...reports of gunfire on the streets...Ma'am several Cruisers and Frigates of unknown origin have entered atmosphere and are off-loading troops on the ground. Confirmed to be the Alien alliance" By that time Seryn had already left the Command room, her Commando training kicking in before she could make a face of surprise as she raced to find her squad, ignoring the sudden crumbling Asari architecture falling around her. She had spotted her Asari comrades long before they had spotted her and the Asari clicked her tongue as she tried prepared her weapons for combat.

_ICRU, Bravo Company, 2nd Platoon_

_Platoon Jonin C_

C pressed his back into the wall he was hiding behind as his twenty-man platoon took up positions near him. The ICRU platoon was part of a 12 800 man invasion force of the planet Thessia. The ten Divisions of ICRU and Army soldiers were currently spread out around the main settlements of the planet, keeping their guns tucked close to their chest and kunai knives within easy combat was hell even for a shinobi.

C gritted his teeth as small explosions slammed against his cover and his small platoon responded with a hail of lightning rounds. A hundred Asari Commandos surrounded C and his men after they got separated from their parent unit, now it was a firefight between his men and some of the Citadel races best.

C pulled himself out of cover and clicked his gun, sending his rounds into the head of two Asari and seriously wounding three more. His shields flashed blue and the Shinobi aas able to dodge a volley mass effect bullets long enough to roll forward back into the cover of a smashed and burning car. Peeking out of cover, C noticed two of his Shinobi sprint forward and ate up the distance between them and the Commandos. One of the Asari brought a 'shotgun' to bear on them but on the last minute the Shinobi jumped over the deadly pellets and brought a heel onto one of the Shinobi's head, dislocating it and driving her blue forehead into the ground, creating cracks at where it impacted. The other Shinobi ducked underneath the barrel of the Asari aiming for him and bringing his neck up, had effectively broke the weapon into two and then sent a palm thrust into her abdomen, sending her flying away and breaking through a nearby wall.

"This is Platoon Jonin C, I have Asari Commandos swarming my position! Please Advise" C yelled into his Radio Seal. The Asari had set up sniper units on the buildings opposite theirs and if it wasn't for their numbers then C and his men would have bull rushed them by now.

"Roger that, diverting nearby assets to assist" a STORM handler, a woman with a high cut voice replied. C didn't pay attention as an Asari had somehow managed to get close to him and tried to blow his brains out in point blank. C had effectively twisted his head around the gun, making her rounds pass harmlessly to the side. The Asari tried to pistol whip him but the Shinobi was faster and brought his fist into the Asari's stomach, feeling his knuckles dig into her stomach before she was sent flying away from the impact, like a spring.

A bullet from a lucky Asari splashed against his shields but a quicksand jutsu from one of his men had sent her and the Asari nearest her into the ground. "How I wish the Momochi and Yuki was here" C muttered to himself. An explosion hit his back, sending his cover flying while his shields had absorbed the hit, chakra connecting his feet to the ground having prevented him from getting sent into the air.

Exposed, C dropped to the ground in a prone and brought his sights onto the Asari, wishing he also had a MAC machine gun in his hands rather than an IRAR.

The Asari's bullets pinged against his armor and angrily, C brought his hands onto the ground and a rock wall sprouted out, giving C some cover from the Asari. "Fuck!" C cursed as pieces of his cover began crumbling away. He could dodge the bullets but having a more than a dozen people shooting at you was suicide even for a shinobi, unless of course C was disjointed then maybe he'd have a chance.

"Did somebody call for backup?" His Radio Seal suddenly lit up as a loud female voice boomed through. Blinking owlishly C barely brought his head up before the iconic sound of a MAC machine gun was heard, slamming against the Asari lines and forcing them back.

C felt his heart sagged in relief upon spotting an Army company landing onto the ground from a nearby roof. The Shinobi having dropped to close to the Asari and were now engaged in hand to hand combat. C was particularly eyeing one violet haired woman, the green patch with two crossed kunai on her left arm symbolising her rank as Jonin lieutenant, wailing on five Asari Commandos.

One of the Commandos threw a ball of some strange energy at the violet-haired Shinobi but she didn't seem affected by it as she pumped chakra to her feet and sent a powerful kick into the Asari's head, pulverising the lower jaw and lifting her high into the air. The other four Asari grew enraged at the loss of their ally and quickly converged on the lone Shinobi. Bad move on their part. The lieutenant grabbed the extended hands of two of the Asari and broke the hand, forcing their bone to shred through their skin and jut out by the elbow. The Asari's screamed in pain but the Shinobi silenced them by ramming their own bones into their necks, forcing them into the ground and stomping down on them to properly nail them to the spot.

The remaining two hesitated, giving the Lieutenant the opportunity to race past the distance between within the fraction of a blink and sent a palm thrust into one Asari's head, forcing her head far enough back to snap her spine. After the corpse fell to the ground the Asari found herself lifted off the ground and brought back down onto the ground, cracking the ground and killing her.

After her show was done the Jonin Lieutenant cracked her neck and turned to C, a shit eating grin on her face. "You the Space Jockey I'm supposed to save?" C looked at her oddly, there was just something about her that set off all the warning bells in his head.

Then she spoke those words, "Akeno Mitarashi, 3rd Mindoir Infantry Company" Now there's the ringer. Not only is she a former insurrectionist, she's a fucking _Mitarashi._

"Um-uh, Yea I'm with the Bravo Company" C looked mildly uncomfortable as she invaded his private space, his ICRU soldiers were too busy mopping up the Asari Commandos to pay attention to him.

"How's the Operation going?" However uncomfortable C was he had dashed those thoughts away for a more important subject.

The Mitarashi looked thoughtful as she placed a delicate finger on her chin. "You want it sugar-coated or laid bare?" She asked, a suggestive tone under 'laid-bare'.

"Whatever you like" C grimaced slightly to himself as he caught on to what she meant.

"Laid-bare then" She winked at him, much to his chagrin, "The Army is reporting losses, getting bottlenecked in the streets isn't fun and were just now getting the hang of their little blue magic stuff or whatever and I heard the ICRU company's Alpha and Delta breached the city centre" The Mitarashi listed off.

"So Operation:Providence Keep is a success?" He asked.

She grinned at him, "I'm game for crushing some more blue bitches otherwise." C nodded his head and together the two groups of Shinobi proceeded to run amok in the Asari city.

The heart of Citadel culture had been taken.

The universe learned that not even their fortress worlds were safe.

_Codex:Providence Keep _

_**Providence Keep**_ _was an old Shinobi tactic that had seen widespread use during the Colonial rebellion by both sides. The tactic played on the Shinobi dominance of land battles. In space Shinobi ships had found themselves in a stalemate with each other therefore large groups of soldiers would be snucked onto a planet by stealth frigates and cruisers, thus resulting in a land invasion before the orbit could be properly cleared._

_The tactic had been praised by Shinobi strategists for its decisive outcomes. No right-minded man would willing bombard their own planet and orbiting ships would have to decide whether wasting resources to capture an already entrenched planet was worth the sacrifice, if not then the Shinobi Alliance had won the battle, if they did tried to retake it then they would find themselves trapped on a world __**previously**_ _their own. With their attention directed to the ground, the Fleets of the Alliance can force a ship battle as they are caught unaware._


	10. Chapter 10

_Shinobi Controlled Space_

_Horizon_

_One Day after Operation: Providence Keep_

The planet of Horizon was a small industrial world at the very edge of Shinobi Controlled Space and therefore the nearest to the Citadel Theater of War. The planet itself was unremarkable, that is, if you discount the giant motherfucking Yggdrasil tree that took up 15 kilometres of the planet.

The planet Horizon was one of the few mass-producing shipyards of the Shinobi Alliance, the other being Shinobi no Chi, Geko, Der Arch, and Sayang. The planet itself was highly defended by the Shinobi Alliance given how long it takes to produce a Yggdrasil tree, not only big enough to create ships of all sizes but provides the raw materials to manufacture Crystalised Chakra efficiently and that in itself didn't speak to the sheer _volumes_ of chakra it produces. Most of the cities on Horizon was dominated by large towering trees and vines criss-crossing around them. The sheer volume of Chakra in the air of the planet was enough to turn any hardened Shinobi into a hippy.

So it was no wonder that there was a total of thirty ships in orbit, fifteen frigates, ten cruisers and five battlecruisers with three Orbital Defense Platforms guarding the planet from an invasion. So, with all these factors combined it was no surprise when Horizon was chosen to be the Command Centre of the entire Shinobi war effort.

Indeed, within the large hollowed tree of the Yggdrasil, its impenetrable bark offering the perfect shield and privacy, were three of the Shinobi's military leaders spearheading most of the operations while the Kage was away on other duties.

Those people are the ANBU Commander, Falcon, High-Kage ICRU Commander, Takumi, and the High-Kage Army Commander, Kevin Goldfield. These people were currently spread out around a small holographic table projecting a galactic map, a small part of it signifying Shinobi Controlled space while the rest was marked bright red, enemy territory.

The ICRU Commander was dressed in all black fatigues, black combat vest over his chest and ceremonial katana sheathed on his hip. Over his eyes was an Accelerated Information Gear, the spiritual successor to the Gale-force reading glasses, that helped in tactical planning. Next to the ICRU Commander was the Army Commander who was dressed in pure light desert sand camo with green jungle stripes combat fatigues under a combat vest, completing the ensemble was a pair of armored greaves.

Falcon was dressed in the normal ANBU uniform the only difference being his black and green cloak over his armor and tanto being sheathed next to his right thigh. Unlike the ICRU Commander both Falcon and Kevin had opted to not wear the AIG Glasses.

"Reports from the ANBU on Thessia are stating that the main military force on the planet has resorted to Guerilla warfare, coming in and causing some trouble before our Shinobi could snuff em out" Falcon said as he leaned over the holographic image of Thessia and if a bystander was looking at him they'd have described him as a benevolent god waiting to wrought punishment on the wicked.

"Divert the ANBU Operatives to deal with them, the troops have to stay within city walls if they don't want to get bombarded in orbit" Kevin advised.

"This isn't my first rodeo you know" Falcon commented dryly. Kevin's face scrunched up slightly but he shook Falcons remark away and focused on the hologram.

"3rd Fleet has been repurposed on Guard duty while 1st, 2nd and 3rd Fleets are prepared to make a move into enemy territory" Kevin and Falcon turned to Takumi as he spoke and both saw no reason to interrupt, "The question, however, is whether we should spearhead towards Thessia or should we open up new fronts on the Turian or Salarian side."

Kevin cupped his chin in thought, idly watching as Takumi shifted his glasses over his eyes and responded, "Pros and Cons?"

Falcon answered the question, "Heading to Thessia? Get our boys back and take the species that have a monopoly on trade, Cons is that the enemy would most likely suspect that and we'd lose a good amount of ships to get to Thessia, not to mention to sidetrack and take areas of interest while the other option lets us put more pressure on the Turian or Salarians while at the same time maintaining our grip on the Asari, bad news is that the troops on Thessia would probably not be seeing a relief force anytime soon" Falcons listed off calmly and Kevin was sure he was saying it out of experience.

"I don't know how I feel about leaving troops on an enemy homeworld, surrounded by enemy fleets and unsure if they could even _eat_ anything there" Kevin sounded uneasy, given the fact he was still slightly new to command, since he had become the High-Kage right at the end of the Colonial Rebellion, he was far less...dehumanised than his counterparts.

Takumi gave Kevin a non-impressed look and Falcon was doing the same though it was hidden underneath his mask. "Kid we all gotta make sacrifices, some of them bad and some of them good but these choices are things that we have to make, in these situations it's best our moral compass is turned off" Kevin flattened his lips and didn't meet the eyes of Takumi as he merely stood there with his hands around his chin.

Falcon sighed to himself before he jabbed a finger down towards a small cluster of stars, "If we're opening up new fronts then we should aim here" Takumi blinked as his eyes followed Falcons finger and nearly growled when he saw the small planet.

"Palaven" He spat, "It's as good a place as any. We'll probably have to skirt around the borders and then go in from the flank, no way is our fleets going to survive a hit from the fleet they have stationed over their home planet" Falcon nodded his head in agreement and began writing these notes down on a small journal he kept on his person.

"Shouldn't the Vice Admiral be here since he is in charge of the fleets?" Kevin sounded confused at this and both senior members sighed, 'Damn rookies' they thought in unison.

"The Vice Admiral is in charge of the fleets, yes, but during wartime land engagements are as much space as it is dirt. We plan the strategy that is most acceptable in terms from a dirt soldiers perspective then we forward this information to the Vice Admiral then he'd either accept them or refuse them. It's how the system works" Takumi explained to him.

"Seems like we're doing all the work" Kevin didn't seem to like that notion. To his surprise however Falcon wrapped his arms around himself and laughed into the air after his comment.

"Trust me Rook, if you see his desk and all the damn papers on it you wouldn't be saying that" Kevin made a small lopsided grin as the ANBU Commander patted his shoulder and Falcon pretended not to see it.

"What about the land troops though? The enemy's fleets already outnumber ours what about their ground troops?" Falcon stretched out his back and allowed Takumi to answer the question.

"The Asari don't have a standing military per say, at least 9% of their population actually enlists while their young ones usually join up in mercenary bands and what not. By a guess at least half their population knows how to fight given their long lives and profession choices." Takumi paused for a slight moment, "The Turians are a martial state, imperial and war-like. Their economy is mostly headed by the Volus but the few Turian companies they have are built upon the foundations of war. They make a profit out of violence without violence, not a bad market scheme. We should have a talk with the Kage about this. Now about the Salarians" Takumi looked pointedly at Falcon and the ANBU Commander grimaced.

"The Salarians are a bunch of smart egg-heads who specialise in intelligence gathering and experimentation. I already filed in some paperwork with reworked protocols detailing proper action to be taken with Shinobi corpses, at the least if destruction of the body is improbable then destroying the Chakra system is imperative and if a soldier finds himself tied to a table then self-destruction is mandatory" All three of the Commanders grimaced, each reliving their own memories of psychotic scientists trying to unlock the 'secrets' of Chakra.

"All in favor to open a front on the Salarians?" As one all three Commanders agreed and they forwarded their information to the Vice Admiral.

_Terminus System_

One can ever truly blame the Shinobi for their paranoia. As powerful as they were in the eyes of the Galactic world, to themselves their power would mean nothing if they didn't know their enemies, their own fear a weapon all on its own. So it was no wonder that the Shinobi had spent five months just garnering as much information it could from Galedia and the Prisoners of War they had.

Now their knowledge of the known galaxy was rudimentary and basic but they knew enough to be comfortable with dealing with their new and strange enemy.

But no matter how they garnered information, whether through asking or mind raping someone, there was always mention of a place known as the Terminus System and no matter how deep the Shinobi digged all they found was rumors and tales. For a shinobi, rumors were a powerful weapon and they did not like it being used against them. Thus, they sent an expeditionary ship to discover what exactly the Terminus System was.

That ship was the NSA Kurama.

Keitaro was wrestling both sleep deprivation and listening to his pilots banter like an old married couple. The NSA Captain was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as the NSA Kurama made a full burn through this '_Terminus System'_. As the first and only Sarutobi Class exploration and defense ship it was the most obvious candidate in traversing this new and potentially dangerous place. Many Turians and Asari that the Shinobi had interrogated had referred to the System, one place in particular as, 'The Place where Secrets lie' or 'The place where law does not exist'. For a shinobi secrets and lawless were everyday problems but unknown secrets and laws wasn't.

For all this Keitaro wasn't exactly worried. He was giddy. He had became the Captain of the NSA Kurama to be an explorer and adventurer. That changed after he went on a self-made campaign against pirates and slavers, further when he went to war with the three new alien species but now he was discovering something, making a name for himself in a world other than gunfire and explosions. A part of him wished Honoka was by his side but seeing just how dangerous the galaxy is, after the introduction of alien life, he felt better that she was on reserve with the Gun Brigade in Konoha city.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to stay in touch with her older brother.

_Hey Big Bro,_

_You should see what's going on in Konoha City, the people are practically calling for news of the war- and not for the reasons you might think. The Gun Brigade is on high alert now and I heard you were part of the retaliatory fleet against the aliens. Are you okay? You should have messaged me or sent a letter. I was so worried._

_Some Inuzuka Clan members and Yamanaka members stopped by the Uzumaki compound, they told me how they had lost some members to the war already._

_I don't like this. And I don't like how you're getting pulled away to some place dangerous like Mom and Dad. Just promise this war won't take you away like the last one did to Mom and Dad. _

_Love,_

_Your sis_

Keitaro was smiling softly as he read the letter on his datapad. The Uzumaki family had never really been big, there were a few families and what not but they were all tight knit, closer than any other family. He and Honoka especially so. He sighed to himself, lost in thought, and quietly kept his datapad on a slot in his chairs arm rest. The Uzumaki took a moment to enjoy the sights of the stars in front of him. The wonders its mesh of purple, white and black gave off breathtaking in Keitaro's opinion and he had realised just how wondrous and beautiful this strange world he traveled through, a world full of mysterious and untapped knowledge.

"Sir, scans have picked up an anomaly, short bursts of seismic activity on a nearby planet Sir. Its not naturally occurring, might be worth a check" Carlos announced by his side. Keitaro nodded his head, passing the information to Nani inuzuka and getting the ship warmed up.

"This better not be a bomb or something" Keitaro joked as the ships turned on its axis towards the nearby planet. Keitaro reclined comfortably against his chair and listened passingly to his pilots arguing.

"And I'm telling you the Crystal Chakra Core is fine, there's no reason to vent off excess Chakra yet!" Jacob whispered harshly as his hands danced across the ship's controls, maintaining the shops rudimentary and complex functions.

"But I got a spike in the engines and too much power is being pulled out of the Namikaze Seals! You and I both know what could happen if the seals malfunction even to the percentile" Nani whispered just as harshly back. Jacob looked upward in exasperation and cursed.

"The vent will only do a force cooldown of the core and I'll have to circumvent the system to restart the transmission seals!"

"What's worse? Death or five minutes of extra work?"

"I'm burning off calories for that extra work!"

"You're such a lazy fat-ass!" Nani huffed as she brought her hands down through her instruments, a quick application of chakra to help boosts its effects. "One of these days you're gonna get a kid who's-" She paused as a red warning light flashed across her screen, the same thing happening to her co-pilot.

"You see that right?" Jacob breathed. Nani was silent as she watched the readings. If the scans were showing anything, it was that a very large wave of Eezo was traveling towards them...and _fast._

"I'm blaming this all on you" Nani hissed. Jacob was silent as the wave struck the Kurama and havoc reigned supreme. The Seals connecting the various pieces of equipment on the ship with the Chakra Core literally lit up in alarm as the foreign energy filled their systems and turned them to an energies equivalent to a drunken stupor, the Terminals lining against the walls began exploding in blue fires of chakra as Naval Officers and Servicemen found their faces torched and mangled as overwhelming heat and debris slashed through them.

Keitaro was fortunate to have been seated in the middle of the entire room and before he was able to even sit up straight, two identical explosions occurred, he himself being sandwiched in between. The Uzumaki found his white uniform catching on fire and had just enough time to shield his face from the worst of the hit but his right arm was left a smoldering mess. Keitaro last lucis sight was his First Officer jumping forward and shielding Yumi Yamanaka from pieces of shrapnel impaling her and then...there was darkness.

XXX

"Did the weapon work?" A crazed female voice asked, her mesmerising voice offset by her twitchy trigger finger.

"It appears that it worked" Another voice answered, the distinct restless tone of a salarian.

Within the shadows the female smiled dangerously. "Our jobs done then." The female walked out of the shadows that her ships provided, accompanied by two others. Both she and her companions was dressed in faded yellow armor with a white logo plastered at the front, slow sadistic smirks playing at their lips and blue skin shining in the sunlight.

"It's time for the Eclipse to go looting" Jona's smile would have made a lesser man crawl away in fear.

_Codex: Yggdrasil_

_The Yggdrasil is a biologically engineered Shinju Sapling made near the Shinobi Space Age. The Yggdrasil trees take near a century to grow into a fully grown tree but when it does, its height would nearly rival that of the clouds._

_Unlike the Shinju tree, the Yggdrasil acts more as a connection between Nature Chakra and Human Chakra. Because of its large size and its near supernatural abilities it constantly vents excess chakra into an atmosphere, this in turn makes whatever planet a Yggdrasil is located in to be very rich in chakra and thus, it isn't uncommon to see trees taller than the highest Shinobi Skyscraper. _

_These Yggdrasil trees find themselves now being used as shipyards where Shinobi Ships and Chakra Crystals are manufactured like clockwork. The trees impenetrable bark also makes it the perfect base of operations or bunker during war time. Yggdrasils are also the birthplaces of Fairy's though only three known incidents has this happened. _

_The Yggdrasil tree is essential for the Shinobi war machine as well as any future economic and agricultural endeavor for the Shinobi Alliance._

_Codex: Eternano_

_A rare genetic mutation only seen with those of Earthland, Eternano is an amazing biological innovation that notable members of Earthland had been privileged to attain due in part to their Nature Chakra rich environment. For years the people of Earthland had considered the abilities of the Eternano as magic when in actuality they were using and controlling the power of Nature Chakra. _

_Though this in itself is impressive, as every mage on Earthland had the capability of becoming a sage, the Eternano is not quite at the level of Sannin Mode or carry the same destructive power as the Tailed Beasts. _

_In modern times mages find themselves in the Army or Navy with many of Earthlands innovations, such as the Lacrimas and Such, were being used by the Civilian community as it was cheaper than their Chakra equivalent, for whatever reason._

_Codex: Mercenary Bands_

_Sometime after the Pirate Wars, a multitude of Mercenary Bands had appeared all throughout Shinobi Countries, such as Fiore and Despin. These Mercenary Bands were ruthless individuals comprised of Ronin, Former Gunmen and Dark Mages, all united for the prospect of money. These Mercenary Bands wreaked a far greater threat than Pirates ever did and The Uchiha Police (Before the Police Acceptance Act) found themselves calling more and more for the AFSA's assistance. For the next coming years Mercenary Bands continued to run amok on the Shinobi homeworld and after space travel their effects reached even to the stars. _

_Nowadays however Mercenary Bands perform behind the curtains dealings with various Shinobi Governments, fighting Proxy Wars and performing the less than acceptable acts of war (See: The Pennington Station Massacre) There are still quite a number of Mercenary Bands still in operation, even after the NSA's march against them._

_The most notable of them were the GHOST Mercenary Group founded and led by Takashi the Current Kyuubi Jinchuuriki._

Authors: I feel as though I'm messing up the story. Am I messing up the story? Is this still enjoyable?


	11. Chapter 11

**Important Announcement at the end!**

Jona Sederis couldn't really be called a very nice person. She wasn't really nice at all, she had no troubles torturing people, no troubles playing with them and using her her sex appeal to turn her victims into some ugly mesh of arousal and fear. What was worst was that she was smart too and risky. Being a Commando wasn't just strutting around with leather and shooting guns, it was also about knowing how best to deal with prey.

Jona had always known the Citadel Forces to be weak, not knowing the right end of an actual war. The Turians were disciplined and professional but all that got them were willing and able soldiers marching into a meat grinder with smiles on their faces. The Asari were far too compassionate and comforted in their seat on the Galactic Space and the Salarians were far too afraid to fight in the open, preferring shadows and games but if it came down to it, they wouldn't last a minute if their main defence was stripped from them. They were all just a bunch of pitiful and weak people.

_But_, looking at the large cannon on board their ship she couldn't help but run a hand over the cool soft metal, _they're good for something._ Another thing that the Citadel was never able to do, take a couple of risks. As an entrepreneur, Jona had seen the plentiful life that Mercenaries had and took it with a wide smile on her face.

Being a Pirate was just a side effect, fighting the dirty end of a war was right around that corner. "STG sure paid a lot of money for that" One of her Asari Commandos muttered, disdain clear in her voice.

"Not as much as they paid to test it" Jona sneered, "Too bad it can only fire once, was hoping to use it a little bit more" Another good thing about being a Mercenary, even the 'Greatest' of government weren't afraid to use her and give her _interesting_ rewards afterwards.

Her reward today was one of these new aliens dreadnoughts full of loot, loot she would see back to the Citadel for a _heavy price._ Jona licked her lips in anticipation for the credits that was to line her pockets.

"Bring the Cruisers in and get that STG Cannon somewhere safe. We only get paid half if its damaged" Jona secured a breathing mask over her head and ignored the grunts of several Turians trying to literally push the object away.

The Cruiser she was in, the _Guiding Thunder_ moved in towards the alien dreadnought and Jona was pleased to see whatever signs of life the ship once had was mostly snuffed out.

"Scan it, do you detect any life-signs?" Jona asked. The Asari by her side nodded her head once and brought her omni-tool up and faced it in the direction of the alien dreadnought.

"Several life-signs, can't really get an idea as to what exactly their numbers are, the hulls metal is strange and weird." Jona had to quell her frustration at the lack of an actual answer and instead jumped out of the Cruisers air lock when it drifted close to the hull of the ship. Following behind her was a group of some if her best Commandos. Bringing her gun out of her back she was quick to bark out orders.

"Get the hull open, NOW!" Two of her Commandos stepped forward, one with an omni-tool that doubled as blow torch and the began to systematic work of cutting into the ship. Meanwhile the Asari atop the ship were watching every crevice on the ship and anything else that could even hide these Shinobi. They had all heard the news of the taking of Thessia, they had all seen the vids of Asari and other Council Races being manhandled and gathers all across the cities in what would surmount as human shields. They were dealing with powerful enemies, one who dominates infantry battles and rushes through conventional war with devastating abilities.

Jona however felt no fear in her heart, only true and utter joy at seeing yet another powerful foes head roll between her feet. "I'm done!" The Asari working on the hole announced, her partner then kicked down on the hole and the two engineers peered inside, crouched down to get a better look for enemies.

This had the opposite desired effect. A torrent of blue-ish bullets whizzed out of the hole, slamming into the two Asari and forcing their muffled screams to deho through space as they were launched off the hull of the ship. Jona snarled, though more out of battle, and threw a grenade through the hole. She beard the distinct yells of panic before the explosion sounded right after. Her Asari then jumped down into the hole, their guns trained on three dusty, bloody and undoubtedly alive bipedal organisms who called themselves Shinobi. The Asari's opening fire blazed through the stun Shinobi and Jona was happy to see them stuck in a cramped hallway with no cover. They were easy pickings and the two soldiers found their necks sporting new holes. The two aliens fell dead on the floor and Jona was able to catch the one piece jumpsuit they were wearing to deduce that they weren't soldiers. Which meant there was still more people to kill. "Get the weapons, anything of use" Not waiting to see if they followed her orders or not she advanced forward with her SMG drawn and steps long and light. Like her Commando training had taught her, she was as silent as she could be.

Continuing further, she allowed herself to get fully immersed in her instincts. Long buried instincts that had never really been buried, just pushed in the direction of other means, like killing her subordinates.

When a shock ran out and her kinetic barriers flashed, Jona had instinctively rolled forward, her gun raised high enough to fire off a volley of mass effect bullets that cut through the space between her and her assailant in seconds. She heard a grunt, feminine, and later more volleys of fire came down. Immediately two Asari vanguards moved forward and erected blue domes of protection between them and the Shinobi.

"Cut them down!" Jona roared. Like an insane thresher maw the Asari had pulled her hand back and launched a field of biotics into the enemy ranks and she was happy to see at least one of them get torn to pieces, his guts splattering the worlds as he was destroyed from the inside. She also noticed how many of the Shinobi were dying because of the lack of shielding, and judging from their uniforms, she was fighting fighter pilots.

"They're just small fish, kill them!" An Asari raced forward, a shotgun in her arms and the two vanguards shifted just enough for her to poke her gun through and with a click, shrapnel was launched and embedded itself into two Shinobi pilots. The tight narrow corridors barely giving them space to dodge.

Jona was laughing hysterically as the pilots slowly retreated and each one kept firing in a futile attempt to break down the Asari biotics barriers. She would have thought she would be winning had she not suddenly seen several aptly dressed soldiers join the pilots and suddenly the tides turned. She saw how the shielded soldiers rushed forward, using their own bodies as shields for their counterparts to use as they pushed forward. With a snarl Jona pulled two grenades free and tossed them forward, with a quick application of biotics, the grenade logged itself into the neck of one Shinobi and exploded to take three more lives.

She was giddy, the aliens were faster she gave them that, twisting and turning out of the bullets way but the close quarters only gave so much room the dodge. They were easy pickings as he vanguards provided all the cover her troops needed. And all across the ship more of her Eclipse mercs would surely be storming the small compact corridors.

This was going to be a great fight.

Jona rolled forward, her gun held steady in her hands as she launched a stream of bullets into the group of Shinobi, cutting down the unshielded ones in seconds. Jona's shields flashed as the Shinobi rounds bounced off them, lucky shots that had passed through the cracks of the vanguards barriers. Jona snarled when her shields had already been lowered past half and she retreated back into the safety of her sisters. Though the fight was clearly to the Eclipses favor.

With one last mighty push the Vanguards charged forward and dropped their shields just in time for the Asari behind to fling their biotics forward, the blue sphered crashing against the Shinobi, several of them having their legs separated from their bodies at the sheer strength put into the Biotic pull.

"Keep pushing we have them on the run" Jona was happy! Undoubtedly more eclipse mercs were boarding the ship and with the pace Jona's team was making, they would reach the bridge in no time.

But fate was far too cruel a mistress.

Maybe it was years of being a commando or perhaps it was dumb luck but Jona had enough sense to duck her head for a fraction of a minute before the flashes of shiny black metal soared over her head and embedded themselves into the two vanguards in front.

"What the-" An Asari yelled, only to be silenced as a silver blade embedded herself into her abdomen, gutting her gruesomely. The leader of the Eclipse snarled as she turned around, glad that the Shinobi behind her had retreated so that she wouldn't be exposing her back to the enemy,

Jona had her gun trained on a single figure amidst the Commandos around him. In a span of seconds she had concluded that the person she was fighting wasn't a pilot or a regular grunt. He was dressed in some type of segmented armor, gun-metal grey with a mix of copper. Inside his hands was a strange blade with no tip and on his back was a holstered rifle. The most distinct part of his outfit was the silver beret over his head.

"Hello there!" The humanoid beamed. The Commandos opened fire. In fluidity that would have put an Asari stripper to shame, the humanoid had rolled forward and away from most of the gunfire where several commandos were subjected to friendly fire as the close quarters of the corridor acted as a double edged sword. The Commandos quickly dropped their guns in favor for hand to hand combat or using tech-based attack.

Jona however knew better than to trifle with such despairing odds and instead turned her back and quietly tossed a grenade behind her. Sprinting off, Jona grinned when she heard the explosions, ignoring the cries of several Asari, and merely moved on to the next group to prey on. But her quiet moment of freedom was interrupted when she felt a hard hand clamp itself onto her shoulder, hard fingers digging into her muscles.

"Well Lady-chan, that wasn't very nice" Snarling, she twisted around and brought the butt of her gun forward to try and hit him in the chest but her blade was blocked by the gun. "My, my, this won't do" The man had a childish smile on his face and Jona just barely caught the patch of red fur tucked underneath his beret as he tipped his head towards her, "And here I thought you were the best eh? Jona Sederis" Eyes widening Jona quickly lashed out with her foot but instead found herself pushed up against a nearby bulkhead, being squished in between flesh and metal.

"How do you know my name!" She was seething inwardly at this point. If those frogs had betrayed her!

Jona's anger spiked when the human male made a small chuckle and it only intensified when he pushed her higher up the wall, his grip as firm as a krogans. "You can't really believe we wouldn't have did some digging of the area before coming here now do you" He cupped his chin afterwards, "Though the Eezo gun is a nice touch. Or at least I expect it to be an Eezo gun given the debriefing of what that shit does to our system" Jona brought her kick up to try and hit the male in between the legs but he jumped back just in time to avoid the tip of her boot. Given her freedom again Jona formed a knife from her Omni-tool and surged it forward, intent on spearing the human through the stomach. But before she could the human brought his hand forward and with a flick of his wrist, he had completely shattered the bone from her hand to her elbow. "That wasn't very nice" The man said.

Grabbing her head the man slammed her forehead into the bulkhead and grinned at her cry of pain before chopping the back of her neck and silencing her. He pulled his tanto free from his back before a sudden cackle of his radio seal woke him from his thoughts, "Ryou we got more boarding parties moving in on the Kurama, the fighters are gonna need some help if they're gonna try and take out the ships." Ryou sighed to himself before looking back down towards the Asari. With a barely suppressed sigh he placed a paralysing seal on her and went off to help with his teammates. Besides, she may be useful later.

-Elsewhere-

Keitaro couldn't breath, blood was seeping down his face and he could feel the charred skin on the left side of his face turn to ashes as the minutes rolled by. "Someb-" Keitaro's words were silenced with a soundless scream as pain flared throughout his body. A presence was felt next to him and something soft curled its way around his hands. "Don't speak, you're in no shape to do anything" The voice was smooth, not quite exactly like a lilac in the wind but it was soothing none the less.

"My name is Haru Dragneel. I'm with the NULL fighters stationed on the ship. Remember?" Yes, Keitaro remembered. She was part of Tobacco Squadron. A startlingly beautiful woman in Keitaros opinion and the Uzumaki felt a little embarrassed being seen by her in such a state, he didn't really get out much.

"The...ship" By the time Keitaro ended his short sentence the pain had already became too unbearable. Haru turned to somebody beyond Keitaro's sight and something was handed to her.

"Captain I'm going to place a seal on you. It should cut off some of the pain and stabilise you but it won't fix you so stay completely still" Keitaro nodded at her using his eyes and the Dragneel carefully stamped a seal onto his neck, the seal array on the small piece of paper spreading free from the paper and Keitaro felt as his pain was lifted free, the chakra in the seal fueling his impressive natural Uzumaki regeneration. (though not to the extent of the Jinchurikis) The pain flared free for a moment before Keitaro was finally able to breath properly.

Looking towards the Captain, Keitaro was able to muster a small grin, "Enemies?" He asked, the pain slightly more tolerable now. Haru smiled softly down at him and manoeuvred his head so that he was using her lap as a pillow. "The fighters are being launched to deal with them while we're pushing the boarding parties back" Keitaro closed his eyes, a sudden weight on his shoulders as he dared to ask the question, "Casualties?" He whispered.

A pained look passed through her face before she looked off into empty space as she answered, "A lot of people died from being near chakra fueled after they exploded. Luckily the fighters were protected by whatever the blast was to still be operational. They're out there fighting against the aliens now. Most of the ICRU are up and running about, doing their jobs. These aliens don't board ships like we do, they still keep their guns and don't use hand-to-hand as often as we do..." She began mumbling to herself and Keitaro didn't honestly care. He didn't care about anything at that moment. All that ruled his mind at that moment was sadness. Sadness of Carlos' death, sadness at the Kurama's injuries and sadness that so many had died. This was supposed to be an expedition of adventure not a battle of massacre.

Perhaps, in some dark corner of Keitaro's mind, he realised that Uzumaki's were never allowed a moment of reprieve from dark times. Clenching his fidt Keitaro was unaware that his face was now scrunched up in agonising fury, completely disregarding the pain flaring from the stiffening of burnt and damaged muscles. But then, suddenly, a hand wrapped itself around his cheek, the ashened skin parting slightly at the soft touch before it finally rested itself against it.

"There's no reason to be angry" The Dragneels voice wafted into his ear. Though Keitaro had to chuckled inwardly at the uneasy and unsure tone behind her voice.

"You're bad at this" Keitaro croaked. Keitaro had to stop his chest from imploding with pain as he he stifled his laughs from seeing the Dragneel's face scrunched up in annoyance.

"Then what am I supposed to say?" The woman challenged and Keitaro chuckled with the occasional hacking cough.

"You're supposed to say, 'They didn't die because of you, there was no way you could have known something like this was supposed to happen. But at least you're still alive and you can mend the broken pieces afterwards.' Or something like that" Keitaro noticed how the Dragneel's face softened and purred quietly when her hand brushed against his scalp.

"You've had experienced with these things, haven't you?" Keitaro's eyes became slightly distant as he stared at empty space.

"Way back when with my sister," Keitaro said, "After our parents died in the rebellion," he added.

"I'm sorry to hear that" She whispered. Keitaro smiled at her and slowly, quietly, sleep came to him.

-outside in space-

STG Operative Salen watched quietly as the Shinobi fighters battled against the Eclipse cruisers, destroying them in showers of sparks and fire as their nimble fighters overwhelmed the ships with numbers in general.

"Did we get the test results?" Salen looked to his left to see another STG Operative working near a console.

"Yes. Preliminary scans show that the blast of Eezo was not detected by the Shielding system given its dust form, not fast enough to trigger the shields _but_ fast enough to cause a chain reaction between the Chakra within the enemy systems to overload the system. However costs is too high, system malfunction is only temporary," as if to prove his point several lights that was previously dark came to life on the Shinobi ship, "Effective use is plausible but nothing concrete."

"I see" Salen said. "Very well initiate the self-destruct on the cannon and prepare the ship to return to Sur'kesh" The STG Operatives nodded and Salen watched as a lone Eclipse ship drifting just outside the battle suddenly went up in flames. The Salarian STG ship turned on its axis and prepared to launch straight towards the nearest relay.

The STG Operative that had been working on the terminal earlier stopped what he was doing and turned towards Salen, noticing the distinct signs of distress on his face as he stared at the stars shining outside the viewport. "Sir?" He asked.

"These beings" Salen spoke out loud, startling the Operative when he realised Salen was talking to himself, "Do they possess any weakness?...Are they truly the end of the Galaxy as we know it?No, are they the end to us?"

"Sir? What do you mean?" The Operative asked, unsure even if he should.

"Sir!" A random Operative started yelling, "Reports from Sur'kesh. Shinobi ships are pushing through Salarian lines!" The Operative flashed a surprise face at this and turned to Salen just in time to see his Grim expression. "_That_ is what I mean"

_A/N: I'm not happy with this chapter. This went through SO MUCH revision. Originally it was character development for Takashi, then it was about a trap between the Shinobi and the Eclipse mercs. You know spice it up by showing just how devious the Shinobi are and what their willing to do to make ends meet but they just didn't fit well together. Then I went to watch Clannad and I came up with this. Pretty good and it ends this part, I just wanted to put the Kurama away for a lil bit so I can tie things in with Keitaro._

_To any unsatisfied readers,_

_I cannot provide you with anything else but my sincerest apologies. I got a C in English and writing is not my greatest skill but I try to make the story as enjoyable for the audience as well as for me. I won't delude myself and imagine as though I'm a great and all knowing writer. I have big plans for the story but that doesn't mean I can always word them in a way that satisfies everyone. I feel privileged to know that a few people truly enjoy reading my story and are willing to work with me to help me make it better but again I may not be able to write this story to its fullest potential._

_To any and all who feel the same way as a recent Guest and have, for whatever reason, not decided to voice them to me. I, again, can only offer you my sincerest apologies. I understand that I am not the best at writing stories nor at making amazing plots and my skill is mediocre at best but I had written this story with the thought of reading it myself and because I myself was annoyed at the lack of people writing it under the same principle, in that the Shinobi rise to the stars. Therefore for any of you who don't like my story I can recommend many to you that may please you such as_ _**Misplaced**__, __**Final Frontier**__, a Naruto unrelated story __**Outcast Effect**_ _and plenty more that are very good reads and for those of you who do not want to read these stories then I have one answer for you. Write. You don't need to write amazing stories or stories with great character development and flawless plot. You could write it in the worst way possible and eventually, you might even inspire more writers to write this story, I had also wrote this story with the intent of inspiring other fledgeling or experienced writers to take up the idea themselves and I have hopes that eventually it would be a very common sight on Fanfiction. _

_Again, to any of you who are unsatisfied with my stories I can only give you my sincerest apologies._

_With Regards,_

_Trane7_


	12. Chapter 12

_Citadel Controlled Space_

_Citadel_

It had been two weeks since the Shinobi forces began making a push towards the Salarian homeworld of Sur'kesh. Members of the Citadel Fleet have branched off from guarding the Citadel to assist the Salarians as they were facing the brunt of the Shinobi onslaught, planets falling due in part to the small number of ships the salarians could bear at the Shinobi fleet since their main offensive of espionage and sabotage prove ineffective against the Shinobi, however the other races weren't free from harassment either. Turian patrol fleets found themselves engaging in bloody fights against small nimble Shinobi fighters while the Asari continued to waste resources into recapturing Thessia, Anti-air turrets and fierce infantry battles eating up the Cultural race attention.

The war itself had also placed a heavy toll on all the Councilors. Sparatus, the calm and collected military man was more edgy than normal, the look of a man with too much responsibility on his shoulders. For all he knew he was fighting a resurgent Krogan Empire only now they didn't just have brute strength. Tevos had dark rings around her eyes, ugly sores all over her hands as she continuously picked fights against C-sec officers trying to stop her from destroying half of the embassies. Agall was more composed out of the two, realising that his short lifespan meant that he would face the least amount of time in the war, however he was less than optimistic about having his final years be spent cooped up in his room and reading casualty reports from the frontlines.

For all this the councilors still managed a strong front as the Citadel forces continued to stem the tide of Shinobi forces. But only so much can be taken while not dishing anything back out. The forces were getting restless. There was no way they could deal with more waiting, with simply being a punching bag for the new aliens.

"What if the calculations are wrong!" Tevos yelled at the two Councilors standing before her, councilors who had disregarded her warnings and led to the trouble that the Asari people now faced. Their own homeworld taken and all because of male libido and testosterone.

"Even if they are it's still a note of worth to see" Sparatus argued. "Damnit Tevos didn't we already have this discussion!" The Asari glared at the Turian, sparks flying from her eyes and no matter how Sparatus word it, he couldn't hide the fact that those bolts stung him. "I followed your leads and now the Asari are suffering!" Tevos screeched, "No more, we are holding our lines unti-"

"Until what Tevos?" Agall cut in, "Until we are all annihilated or until we are forced to surrender to the Shinobi?" Tevos shook in fury as the two representatives to each species continued to try and drag her people down lower.

"But what if your calculations are wrong! What if they suddenly attack right as our fleet finds out there's nothing at those coordinates! You'd only doom us" Tevos wasn't bowing to them, not after how much flak the Asari had gotten. She just wouldn't.

"Tevos please" Sparatus begged and silently both Agall and Tevos were surprised that _Sparatus_ of all people was begging to her, "This needs to happen. We can't just keep trying to maintain the fence while rocks are being thrown at it. We have to play it smart, we have to fight back or there would be no end to this war for us" Tevos bit her bottom lip, her mind a whirlwind of activity. But no matter what she said, she couldn't really fault their ideas and her own need for revenge overshadowed her resolve. But she was still standing strong against them.

"Tevos" Agall pleaded, "We've lost ten Salarian colonies already. I've read casualty reports in the thousands, more so for the Turians. Your people aren't suffering alone Tevos. We need this" And just like that her wall had crumbled, resignedly she brought her hand up and with a quick motion of her hand she had sent information towards Sparatus' Omni-tool.

The Turian brought his hand up and nearly squawked in surprise at what he read, "Tevos this is..."

The Asari councilor smile wanly, "Most of our experienced Commando teams were on Thessia when it was taken, so the majority of the troops in that list aren't as good as most and I can only spare you a few ships" Sparatus shook his head, his mind still comprehending it.

"25 Commando teams and a whole flotilla, Tevos this is more than enough, Thank you" Sparatus placed his hand on Tevos' shoulder, conveying through his eyes his gratitude for what she did before spinning on his heel and walking out of the council chambers, past groaning C-Sec officers and disgruntled looking civilians. All around him the mostly Turian C-Sec officers were being berated by Civilians in quote-on-quote 'For bringing this hell of a war on us!' And the yells only increased as Sparatus walked through. The Turian councilor simply ignored them, albeit with a few glares mixed in, but merely continued to march onwards as passionate Asari cursed his name and silent, stoic Salarians watched him calculatively.

It was only when Sparatus reached the Zakara wards was he allowed a moment of reprieve from all of the glares and conspiratorial whispers, finding solace amidst the empty corridors as residence had long since boarded themselves in their houses, paranoid for a coming invasion. It was here Sparatus waited, his thoughts drifting away to his lifetime as he contemplated his next years, or even _if_ he'll have coming years. As a Turian it was always the people first, culture, duty, honor. These values held prevalence over social activities, even more so for a Turian of higher stature than others. Showing an inch of anything but the best led to bad eggs and bad eggs led to bad Turians and the punishment was never so severe as it was for the cause of it. Though, looking back at his life being part of the Citadel Council, he realised he had nothing. No family, no friends beyond that of old acquaintances in the Hierarchy, the other councilors were mere colleagues of interest for the Turian, he didn't even have a family. No legacy, no dream. He felt oddly empty...not at peace just, empty.

"You seem to be busy" Sparatus was spurred awake by a Turian next to him and not just any Turian. When Sparatus turned to the voice he nodded with appreciation at the red colours that adorned the armor of the Turian, the unmistakable face of Adrien Victus staring back at him. Sparatus sighed, his talons cupping his eyes as he allowed his wariness to show.

"None more so than you I would imagine, given your assignment" Adrien smirked at Sparatus, crossing his arms over his chest as he did the Turian equivalent of a shrug.

"Go behind enemy lines, attack a fleet that technologically overpower ours and also are stronger than any living being in the known universe. Get me drunk on ryncol first and I'd say you've given me a challenge" Adrien chuckled at his own joke, the streams of cabs and cars soaring by as he allowed the somber silence to stretch between them.

"You move out in six hours with some added Asari help" Sparatus announced. Adrien looked surprised.

"Didn't think that Asari would ever shift from her spot" Sparatus frowned, a slow grumble in his gut.

"She's just doing what she thinks is right...and what she lost faith in" Sparatus whispered that last bit to himself. As the Turian Councilor, he had done a huge disservice causing this war and though he held firm in that the Council would survive this bloody battle, he wasn't sure at what cost. He wasn't sure about how much had to be given before they got anything back and Sparatus further feared that if the Shinobi were indeed pushed back, would they be certain in their destruction? They didn't use Mass Relays, their weapons were alien to them and the location of their homeworld would be all but useless if they couldn't reach them.

"Sometimes I wonder if I've seen too much" Sparatus whispered, his talons gripping the railing as he stared at the passing view. Adrien was silent, listening to Sparatus passingly as he too eyed the scenery. "I wished I had more days like this, just sitting, staring. _Living_."

"It's not too late" Sparatus turned to Adrien, the dark rings around his eyes more prominent this time, his eyelids dark and heavy.

"You're wrong, there's no time left for any us" Sparatus sighed to himself, "I don't know if I'll be the same after this"

"I don't think any of us will be the same"

_Shinobi Controlled Space_

_Space Station FIONA_

_Orbiting Mindoir_

The Shinobi planet of Mindoir wasn't as beautiful as it once was. At the peak of its time it had been the capital of the then rebellion, feeding the treaty of Outer Colonies with soldiers and weapons. Even some of their ships had been made from this very spot, a testament to their industrial capabilities as it had no Yggdrasil tree.

Now however the once tropical islands were dotted with large impact craters, a result of Shinobi ships bombarding the planet, and scorched earth. Half of the planet wasn't livable anymore and the other half kept some of the Shinobis most dangerous criminals. All of them running amok on their segregated continent where no rules or regulations existed. It was a hell hole for the weak and an even worse hell for the strong. It was a long running gag that ANBU would occasionally come down to the planet and use it as training on how to deal with unruly civilians but even then everyone generally agreed the risks that came with that weren't particularly light.

Given Mindoir's prior history and its current situation it only stood to reason that the SHinobi went to great lengths to properly monitor the situation on the ground. Sixe space stations orbited the planet, each Space Station more than equipped to deal with any criminals trying to get smart on the planet. Each ships held its own complement of Army Company's and they also contained some of the brightest scientists that the Shinobi could provide. Given Mindoir's solitary distance from Shinobi Controlled Space and the level of security each Station provided as well as secrecy, it was no uncommon for famous scientists to stop by Mindoir to test out an invention or use the facilities provided. It was also a popular place for students and professors of criminal psychology and behaviour to stop by and observe the prison planet.

Though today wasn't really a normal day for the people on Space Station FIONA, the southernmost station from the planet. The station was currently sporting the injured and dead of the Sarutobi-Class Starship _The Kurama_ after its botched mission into the Terminus System. The ship itself had been quickly shipped off to Der Arch to be repaired while the members of its crew, who were at the time not ready for extended travel, were consolidated on FIONA.

Within the stations many white walls and busily working scientists was Jonin Captain Haru Dragneel, the pink-haired NULL pilot was walking around the Station with her flight suit on, the top part having been unzipped and tied around her waist, revealing a white sleeveless top. The pink haired Dragneel had a small container under her arm, her sharp almost dragon-like teeth poking out from underneath her upper lip as she hummed a tune to herself. She passed by several scientists and ICRU soldiers, all of which greeted her happily as she alked along the corridors.

As she walked she thought about the incident in the Terminus System. It was by far a crippling blow for the Shinobi Alliance. _The Kurama_, a the poster ship for the Alliance Navy had been all but destroyed when that Eezo gun rammed into the ship and made the ships systems go haywire. Shinobi engineers were now working at a frenzy to try and rectify this but so far they weren't exactly sure if they could properly defend ships against a weapon like that. It was only the fact that _The Kurama_ had a a couple squads of Service Guards aboard that they were able to repel the Asari mercenaries as well as they had.

Her thought stopped quickly though before she could continued them when she reached her destination and with a feral grin she slapped the button next to the door and the slab of metal quickly broke away to reveal a rather spartan looking room, quite a couple inches bigger than a normal room in a space station. At the centre of the room was a small bed, a certain redheaded captain staring blankly outside the window of the room, mesmerised by the stars twinkling outside.

"Captain" The Uzumaki blinked and he turned towards the Dragneel who was standing at attention at the door. Smiling softly the Captain nodded his head in greeting,

"I'm not quite sure if I'm going to hold that title anymore, what with the botched mission" The Uzumaki waved the Dragneel and Haru took a moment of her time to run her eyes over the Uzumaki. Like most Uzumaki's he had the shiny red hair contrasting against the Scarlet's darker shade. The male was once handsome, having a sported a strong jaw and twinkling violet eyes but sadly after the explosion that took place on the ships bridge, half his face was covered with burned marks, his left eyes was nearly burned shut and his right side was a little bit more tan than usual. "Sorry to have you keep doing this Haru, it's just that I can't really use my hands at the moment" To emphasize this he moved his hand up, showing off the bandages covering them and effectively bundling his fingers up to be of no use.

Haru smiled thoughtfully at him, her eyes twinkling in mirth as she sat down on a chair next to the bed. "I don't mind at all Captain. You're at least much better at taking orders than my father" Since the space station doctors and nurses were busy handling the more critically wounded members of the crew, haru had been designated Keitaro's 'feeding hand'. Something she didn't mind all too much considering she grew up with a household of stubborn males he couldn't learn when to stay still in bed when sick or hurt.

"Still it's quite a lot to ask from you considering how busy you've been" Haru grimaced slightly. After the death of Carlos something with Yumi Yamanaka snapped, she was harsher with the pilots and her orders were a lot more crisp and clear than they were before. Seeing the look on Haru's voice Keitaro made a move to make sure she didn't misunderstand his friend, "Yumi's just shaken up about Carlos' as am I, she'll cool off, eventually" Keitaro was looking hard on her, his eyes steely as the violet twinkle showed that it was still fighting.

"I understand" Haru said solemnly. "His sacrifice was valiant" Keitaro looked unsure.

"He was an idiot" He snorted, "But he was a good friend" Haru frowned at Keitaro, her hands pulling out the food from their bags almost instinctually.

"It really wasn't your fault what happened" Haru tried to soothe him as she had tried when _The Kurama_ was attacked. Keitaro shook his head, his eyes staring sadly out the window.

"Even if it wasn't my fault Haru, I am the captain and as the captain they trusted their lives with me." Keitaro clenched his hands together underneath his bandages, a fresh streams of tears falling down his face. "All their names are with me. Every single one of them. Hayate, Raidou, Teika, Carlos, all of them, seared into my memory. Even if I'm not at fault, it doesn't change that fact that I can never forget that they had trusted their lives with me" Keitaro silently wept at the loss of his friend, at the suffering of his crew and at his own ineptitude. As a captain he should have been ready, he should have been prepared. He should have been cautious. Even if he was not to blame there was no denying that there was no one else to blame but him, in his mind at least.

Keitaro's eyes opened wide in shock as soft hands encircled him, the hands pressing him into the warmth of another. "H-Haru?" Keitaro began but he was shushed by the Dragneel as she drew slow circles on his arm.

"My dad used to say, the people you serve with are like family" Haru gently rose one her hands to rest on his hair, her fingers combing through the red locks. "He used to say that every comrade was a brother and that every officer was a parent. There were good ones, there were bad ones but in the end they were all family" Pulling away from the calmed captain Haru smiled softly at him. "We learn to love and care for each other unconditionally like a family would. I'm sure they all know you tried your best Captain, I'm sure they'd be proud of you if they were here with us. There's no reason for you to be like this, no reason at all."

Keitaro stared at her a moment, eyes dancing around her long flowing pink hair before he smiled softly, "You gotten better at this" Haru laughed softly.

"I got some pretty good advice" For the next hour since then, Haru and Keitaro spent it on the bed, silent and quiet, each seeking comfort in the others embrace. For the silence that day provided would be left to be seen as the only for the rest of the year as the Shinobi would soon receive a great shock.

But for the two on the Space Station FIONA, they were just two people, in a big galaxy.

_Location Unknown_

_Time Unknown_

_Place Unknown_

_**A war has broken in the horizon**_, a large booming voice sounded across the deep expanse of space, the sheer complexity and power it held racing through the emptiness of space in phenomenal speeds. _**The Beginning is no longer preferable, The End must be achieved**_.

Silently, a small blueish hue flickered in it's empty soulless surroundings. It flickered it's eyes upwards to the ceiling, numbers and letters being sent out into deep space with its answer. _Have they met any beyond the powers of this time?_

_**I do not believe so.**_

_Then let us maintain that. Make sure that they remain secluded from the rest of Galactic Space. It took us years to remove foster hatred and contempt between them and the Council in general. It would be most detrimental if they were to come into contact with each other._

_**If they are indeed the children of He, then I doubt our efforts would make much of a difference.**_

The blueish hue turned slightly around, revealing its young child-like features as it floated towards the centre of the room.

_If they are indeed the children of He, then we must tread carefully. _

_**You would ask I assist the Council members?**_

_Discreetly, do not given them moment of suspicion or attention to our actions. Much must still remain in secrecy until we are ready to return. _

_**As you wish**_**.**

_Get it done...Nazara._

_A/N The scene with Keitaro and Haru was written by my friend because I was really busy this week and weekend. Tests galore man, Math, Chemistry, Bio FUCKING teachers man. Shameless plug, I've begun writing a story on wattpad called Arenik, wanna see it my acc's gunnut. It sucks though, like hardcore, beginner level amateurish such-suck. Other than that I'm thinking about making a RWBY/Mass Effect crossover like this one just cuz at that one scene when I saw the Atlesian airships fly in, I was all like, THAT NEEDS TO BE A THING and then when I see the Atlesian knightss I was all like THAT SOOOO NEEDS TO BE A THING. Give me your comments _


	13. Chapter 13

_Shinobi Controlled Space_

_Sayang_

_Captain Fu_

Sayang was among the first planets that had a Yggdrasil tree planted on its surface, the tree having grown after half a century. In that time the entire planet was nothing but forestry, the trees dominating most of the land as the Shinobi delayed their colonisation to wait for the Yggdrasil to grow, which was a good choice. When the first Shinobi engineers came down to build their cities they found their construction time halved as the workers were fueled by the chakra rich environment of the Yggdrasil tree and the metal of the buildings had been far more easier to synthesise with the tree nearby. Now Sayang was a completely industrialised planet, many of the Shinobi's Corporations setting up shop on Sayang and blossoming under the nature chakra environment.

Though even this planet had its own battle scars. During the Rebellion the planet Sayang had faced a number of dirty tricks employed by the Rebels, sending transport barges filled with explosive charges onto the planet surface, setting up explosives on the planets embassies and crashing its economy with several shadow investments (Don't ask). But like a true Shinobi planet it endured and pushed onwards, facing off against the worst of their enemies and giving back tenfold. Now the planet world of Sayang found itself with five Orbital Defense Stations and a dedicated force of eight cruisers, three dreadnoughts and four battlecruisers. It's force however had once been larger but after the war sprang up half of its fleet was forced to join up with the 1st and 2nd fleet as they sustained heavy losses from duking it out on two fronts. Even though the Shinobi held dominance over their less superior enemies, the Alliance still had the disadvantage of lesser numbers and the lack of ability to replenish lost soldiers as quickly as their Citadel counterparts. As such many dedicated ships from the 3rd fleet were forced to join the war effort.

It was also worthy of note that the system that Sayang found itself in was home to only three other planets, each of them incapable of being terraformed given their violent atmospheres. But out of all the planets one stood out the most, it was a large planet able to fit in three Shinobi No Chi's inside it before being full and it had nine moons orbiting it. Quite a few for normal planet standards. But today it marked a strange disappearance of one of their moons, though it wasn't uncommon its suddenness had raised some alarm among the troops.

For Captain Fu, it was an alarm that had him paranoid. Shinobi were renown for that fact. Trusting the shadows got you a knife on your back, walking in daylight and they wouldn't find a body to bury. As a Captain he took these words to heart, wishing for the survival of his men and performing his duty to the Alliance. These feelings of paranoia were only amplified by his new position. Sayang was not only an important planet for the Shinobi trade and commerce as the planet itself was a literal slingshot away from the nexus in between most of the Shinobi inner world colonies, which was Buro. Sayang was literally where the frontier began and ended, as such the planet wasn't just tactically important, destroying the Shinobi trade ability during a full scale war, but also strategically as Fu feared that their Citadel enemies would use it to launch guerilla style attacks on the inner colonies using their strange FTL. With the 1st and 2nd fleet deep in enemy lines, the two heavy hitting fleets wouldn't surely have enough time to turn around and retake Sayang before the Citadel forces could do some serious damage on the Inner Colonies.

So Fu had naturally ordered his ships to form a blockade around the planet, the ODPs launching forward on their thrusters to create a line behind the ships. Shinobi Orbital Station were large, at least 20 KM in length and 9 KM wide, it formed a long strand that led to the stations oval-shaped command centre. Lining the knife-like body of the Stations were countless Quick Impact Chakra Coil turrets and several hangar bay doors to launch their own compliments of HOUND fighters. The Command Structure wasn't so harmless either as there were three Chakra Impact Coil Cannons in a Y formation, the point of intersection between the lines having a small oval dome where hundreds of Shinobi soldiers and engineers worked to both defend and operate the station. The ODPs were a relatively new technology for the Shinobi Alliance and scientists were still trying to understand how to properly utilise them in order to make the planned 'Sannin Defense Grid' that would defend the major Shinobi planet and perhaps eventually all shinobi planets but for now they had to make due with what they could do.

"Toka! Do you see anything on the scanners?" Fu asked. A man that was currently eyeing a tablet in his hands looked up from his work, his short black hair and rimmed glasses giving him an 'intellectual' look.

"Nothing as far as I can see Captain" Fu grinded his teeth together but nonetheless nodded his head in acceptance. Toka was a one of the best Sonar men that the Shinobi Alliance had, next to the Naras of course. When Toka said there was nothing there Fu was inclined to believe him and when he said there was something there then Fu was inclined to drop a bomb on it.

"I don't like this. Launch the HOUND fighters and perform an immediate sweep of the area!" The Naval Officer nodded and hurriedly relayed the message through the Yamanaka Seal on his collar, informing the Sector Commander of the Fighter Division on the orders.

Immediately five squadrons were launched from the dreadnoughts and battlecruisers, the ships banking around the fleet in their usual show-off attitude as they tumbled around the space in front of them. "Damn hot-shots" Fu grunted. He could never understand the undisciplined lifestyle of a pilot, surely being in a careening deathtrap would bring some humility but it would appear it only boosted their egos further.

"I hope they don't try anything weird out there" Fu muttered.

"Don't worry sir, they're professionals. They'll be fine" Toka reassured.

_HOUND Fighter/Interceptor_

_Dragoon Squadron_

_Jonin Captain Yamada _

"You guys wanna do something weird?" Yamada asked lazily through the as he pulled his control yolk back, his back reclinin gently against the seat of his chair as he eyed the inky blackness of space. His eyes held a bored aura about them as he barely listened to the replies of his teammates.

"I don't feel like dogfighting right now"

"Don't be such a bore keyman..."

"Can we just get this over and done with? I have a date with Itou later"

"The Nurse on D-Wing?! Miyamura you gotta tell me you hitting that!"

Grunting to himself Yamada quickly stopped the chakra flow into his Yamanaka Seal and grumbled to himself as he allowed his HOUND to enter drift, alerting his other teammates to do the same as he decelerated. Sighing to himself he leaned back against his chair and looked pointedly into space. "Ugh why do I have to be out here when I'm supposed to be back on Naki with Shiraishi..." Crossing his arms over his chest Yamada absentmindedly turned on his HOUNDs thermal suite. Almost immediately a big red blink popped up on his equipments screen.

"What the..." He muttered. Pressing his hand against the button next to the screen, the runes across his dashboard lighting up and guiding his hands through the process. "Hey I got an anomaly" Yamada said through his Yamanaka seal. "It's strong, ain't that far off either" His hands coiled themselves around his control yolk and his face tightened, eyes gleaming with the seriousness of a combat veteran. Suddenly, as if on signal, hundreds of other red blinks filled his screen and he had to shield his eyes with his forearm to try and block out the suddenly glaring light. Turning the instrument off he was shocked to see a see of red, white and blue suddenly lit ablaze in the space in front of him.

"Warn the fleet! We have enemies moving in on our position!" Just as his command left his mouth he caught fighters fly by his Fighter, Turian make if his war debrief was right. "It's the CItadel forces!" Pulling back on his control yolk Yamada's fighter was sent careening up into the air as Turian fighter opened up on his squadron, the HOUND fighters barely able to dodge in their surprise at their sudden appearance. "What the hell! Where did these guys come from!" Miyamura, Yamada's wingman, shouted in surprise as his fighter spewed out Lightning rounds in a vain attempt to quell the sudden influx of enemy fighters. "They literally just popped out of nowhere! Almost like they were invisible" Sending his fighter into a dangerous roll, Yamada pressed the firing stud and launched a trio of Lightning rounds into a passing Turian fighter, the blue arc slamming into the fighter and causing the fighter to burst to life into flames.

Dragoon squadron lost all unit cohesion as they engaged in close quarters dogfighting, the bane of any fighter in space or atmosphere. So it was no surprise when Dragoon squadron made haste to escape the multitude of enemies, their engines spewing chemicals into space as they rocketed away. Yamada's mind briefly panicked as he found himself being chased by three Turian fighters, only his experience and own intuition saving him from getting shot out of the sky by their slugs. It was only by the grace of Kami himself that he was able to decelerate enough for all three of them to pass him before revving his engine up and zooming towards a clearing.

From there Yamada saw a sight that caused his hands to slacken. He couldn't quite tell how many ships were there but he could safely say there was enough to put the 3rd Fleet to shame. They stacked up next together, their hulls glistening and Yamada noticed some were slowly revealing themselves to the world showing that they had been invisible before the sudden attack. But how? When had their enemies been able to turn invisible? The answer to that question didn't matter however as the ships moved forward, intent on raining hell down on their enemies.

_The Battle of Sayang _

When one looked back at it, no one can say the world was at peace with what had transpired. The Citadel Fleet entered, their two-hundred ships, most Turian and Salarians, began their slow advance towards the meager Shinobi fleet in the system. Their Carriers continued to spill out Fighters however they wouldn't make the same mistake as their earlier engagements had, they had learned from their mistakes. Their hordes of Fighters didn't engage the Shinobi's own, where in a battle of Quality vs Quantity the Shinobi would win both sides, instead they stayed close to their cruisers, their GARDIAN lasers and the quick precision of Turian fighters keeping the onslaught of HOUND fighters at bay. The Shinobi Dreadnoughts raced forward, their guns lighting up to meet the enemy in a blazing glory of blueish chakra and Lightning rounds as Cruisers readied themselves to engage in bloody trench fights. The Battlecruisers stayed close to the ODPs their side cannons brimming to life ready to defend the planet below them.

It was a just a heartbeat later, slowly, agonisingly long, the silence of space stretched between them, no sound, not a breath, only the conflict ahead of them filling the minds of all those who were present. And then the fists flew, the jabs hit home, the roars deafened the void and the Shinobi dreadnoughts opened fire. Their coils, cackling with Lightning dragons and fire arrows were sent careening through space, the chakra coil fueling them as they spliced through without resistance and met the Citadel fleet, spearing through a dreadnought, a cruiser and exploding in a fiery storm of burning metal and heat. But the Citadel fleet gave back just as much as they lost, their ships launched their slugs, accelerating them through space and impacted against the dreadnoughts, the Shinobi shields holding admirably well against the Citadel before they cracked and was rewarded with brutal wounds and scars embedding themselves deep into the hull, the screams of the crewmen echoing throughout the whole battlefield.

Cruisers met in fiery display of valor and passion, Shinobi coils meeting Citadel lasers in a brilliant display of sheer epic power as Fighters duked it out around them, their cry of war acknowledged by their older, bigger brothers and sisters as the battle raged on. The ODPs sprang to life, their cannons firing in continuous streams as they rotated on their axis, raining a violent shower of death on their enemies. Amidst it all Yamada continued to fight, Dragoon Squadron fighting valiantly against their enemies, exchanging bloody jabs and heartless remarks.

But as strong as the Shinobi were, as dominant as they were against their enemies, they knew with all their heart they would lose this battle. But they would not stop, why? Because hell they didn't care. They saw nothing but a war to fight, in this short period of battle, the Shinobi were at home. In a battle of trickery and games, this was their forte and they would give no quarter without taking twice as much.

The Shinobi Dreadnoughts fell but so did a fifth of theirs, the Shinobi Cruisers were left as floating carcasses but the Citadel Fleets own Cruisers were forced to retreat and lick their wounds. The Fighters fought tooth and nail, losing half their number but still baring fangs against their avian enemies, whose primal instinct warned them of the danger that awaited them. When all was said and done, the Citadel fleet was forced to pull their Fighters back, the small ships now being used as a shield to help defend them from the enemy while the Shinobi recalled their own.

Even with the loss of their ships, the Shinobi still grinned in satisfaction. They had won this war, the enemy gaining nothing but a pyrrhic victory. That smugness changed when one of the dreadnoughts in the enemy fleet moved forward, the others separating to allow it a path towards the Shinobi fleet. Its main gun lightning up in a blueish hue as they prepared to launch their devastating attack on them. It was only by grace that the Shinobi commanders ordered for the Fighters to run towards Shinobi Controlled space, the Captain, a stout man named Fu, realising the threat ahead of them. The ODPs became frantic, their coils being launched twice as fast as exhaust pipes burst free within the gigantic structures, the Shinobi ships lighting their engines in an attempt to escape the blast.

But it was too late, in a loud boom that rocked the battlefield Eezo was launched free from the ships main gun, its gun realising the chemical element that proved to be the bane of Shinobi mechanics. The dust spread, forming a long stretched of a net before finally meeting the Shinobi fleet and in a fiery display the Shinobi ships erupted into chaos. Their systems overloaded, their engines suddenly imploded and the ODPs were suddenly sent into a dangerous tumble.

WIth a roar unlike any other the Shinobi ships were engulfed in fiery black flames as the Citadel fleet added fuel to the fire and destroyed what remained of their ships. That day the only to survive were fifteen Squadrons of FIghters who were fast enough to escape the net of destruction.

On that day marked the Shinobi's second defeat, on that day marked a very special day...

It marked the day that the Citadel was most ashamed of. It marked the day that both sides became desperate.

But in history it was simply known as the Battle of Sayang.

**ANOUNCEMENT**

**Not sure if you've been informed or not however I have an Announcement!** I AM NOT TRANE7. **I am in fact his friend, the same one that wrote the fluff scene between Keitaro and Haru, that is right I am SHE! Now I think I have some explaining to do. Tranny (Hehe) is currently very busy, couple that with the stress of exams and his little brother suddenly becoming very sick he has had very little time to write or even open his computer anymore. Least of all his precious Anime... But he is a very submissive person, god bless him, and he very nearly begged me to help me by writing this chapter because he as a writer did not want to disappoint you as a writer. So using the little monologue type thing he gave me to add into the chapter and riding off that I wrote the chapter you see before you. Keep in mind, I don't write action, I write fluff, mostly for myself. So this in turn will be something new for me and I hope you all aren't too angry at the fact that this chapter was pretty much...useless. However I tried my best to emulate his writing style, and forgive me if I failed so terribly. **

**I'm sorry, I truly am if I have inconvenienced any of you however please understand that he is a very busy person and doesn't always have the luxury of time. There would be those that would say that isn't an excuse or that he should manage his time better however Amir isn't the brightest of people and thus...he's pretty stupid. So please forgive him and forgive me if I sound like a bitch, huh, just noticed I did.**


	14. Chapter 14

_Shinobi Controlled Space_

_Planet Sayang_

_General Adrien Victus_

"General, the clean up is currently underway! We are regaining operational command in...three...two...one!" Letting his hand fall from its countdown the young ensign was met with a holographic screen lighting up in front of him. The Eezo gun was an exemplary piece of technology that the Salarians had been able to make, but it was just as costly as well. The amount of Element Zero used in that one-shot attack was enough to power five dreadnoughts all on their own. However, at the level that their enemies were within the natural trophic level, measures had to be taken and resources just became blank numbers on a check. Those numbers however had earned the Citadel a great victory but the ship that housed the Citadels newest weapon didn't walk away unscathed either. Such a concentration of Eezo would be harmful to any onboard ship systems, given its hazardous nature. Expensive and easily repaired equipment was used in the creation of the _Broker_ in order for it to be able to use the Eezo gun to its maximum potential.

"Alright, make sure you reboot the system just in case" Victus ordered. The ensign saluted and ran back to his post to perform his task. Next to Victus was a Salarian STG Operative, a Salen- just Salen- who was standing passively off to the side. The Attack Group codenamed, _Steel_, were holding position outside of the enemy worlds orbit and Victus was slightly relieved that the planet hadn't suffered permanent damage from the launching of the Eezo gun, his mission was to take a planet and hold it not destroy its eco system.

"Sir, reinforcements have entered the system!" Victus sighed, the entire Ninth Turian Attack fleet and the Sixth Rear Guard Fleet had been combined to assault the enemy world on the campaigns initial assault but the sudden appearance of the gigantic ODP's- _What's with these aliens and making everything big- _at least 45% of the combined 11 000 ships had been destroyed with more declaring serious damage. The arriving reinforcements would be the Salarian and Asari ships, a slightly smaller more specialised fleet of ships that were meant to assist in the taking of the enemy world.

"Establish a comm link and get the ships organised. I want engineering ships repairing the fleet fast, while the rest set up defences down faster than the enemy can enter the system! Line up the Rear Fleet all around the system and tell them to open fire on any ship that does not transmit a FoF tag!" The Turians who had been hovering over their colleagues gave the General a salute before marching off to perform their task.

"General I think it'd be best if we scan the surface before advancing any further, we need to know the planets defences before tackling the idea of taking it" Salen said off to the side. Victus gave a crisp nod to the Salarian, his talons already selecting out a member of his crew.

"Get me eyes on the most industrial part of the city! Light up any signatures common to military establishments with statistical analysis of the surrounding terrain!" Victus clipped a switch by his command chair that lit up a holographic view in front of him. The planet was outlined in blue with the continents shining a bright green. The planet had three large bodies of land with at least two oceans that Victus could discern. The continents were mostly dominated by large sprawling trees that appeared to be intertwined with several large skyscrapers.

With a quick scan Victus was shock to see that the trees were actually hiding a sprawling city beneath it, the buildings almost covered in forestry with only the roads devoid of any roots. The city was about as large as one of Palaven's biggest cities but seemed more smaller due to the size of the continent it was on as it took up at least 36% of the planets surface. Victus slightly marveled at the strange architecture the Shinobi employed for a moment before refocusing his eyes on three glaringly red outlines. They were spaced evenly apart in the city, the one closest to the cities centre was larger than the other two and Victus wondered if they were outposts.

Had they expected them? That was severely unlikely, so it was best to assume that this world was important to the Shinobi in some way, possibly the reason why it was so well defended. "Zoom in on the centermost structure, just past its north face!" Salen ordered. The Turians by their stations only hesitated a moment, enough time for Victus to give them a nod, before they set to work. When the view of the continent zoomed in closer to the enemy base at the center of their city, Victus was able to see a mob of asari-like creatures, the Shinobi people, running out of its entrance lifting heavy equipment and moving almost too fast for the _Brokers _systems to keep up render.

Victus sucked in a breath at their numbers, they were almost bordering two thousand as they scrambled out of the base. As it stood, _Steel_, had a whole 900 000 soldiers-excluding the soldiers on board as security detail- to take over the planet and they had to do it fast before the enemy sends reinforcements but if the Shinobi have a larger force here then that would be unlikely, after all, these were a people that took Thessia with a 12 000 man force. "Prepare to bombard them!" Victus felt slightly uneasy about bombarding a major population centre but he was not about to risk the lives of his men on trivial morals even if they're causing a stir in his head.

The Broker and a dozen other Cruisers began to move forward intent on raining hell on the enemy soldiers. Salen took a step next to Victus but the Turian didn't mind and instead waited for the slugs to fly.

The _Broker's_ gun lit up with a blueish hue before a slug was launched free at phenomenal speeds, followed by the static releases of ten more from cruisers. The slugs were close to hitting the planet and Victus prayed that the shot did not strayed wide but to his surprise a blue rounded barrier lit up around the planet as the slugs entered atmosphere, its sudden appearance almost like an angry mother as the slugs slammed into it. The barrier crackled with electricity where the slugs had hit, the lightning arcing over the Mass Effect weapons in a mad frenzy before finally it launched the slug bag in every direction.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Victus screamed. The _Broker _responded immediately and was barely able to dodge the incoming slugs before it nicked its port side, the barriers of the ship holding just enough so that the ship could survive, the same could not be said about the cruisers however as they suffered massive damage from their own weapons, one was critically damaged while others had their shields ripped from them, one had even lost its engine.

"Planetary shielding!" Salen cried out. Victus tossed a disbelieving look at him but couldn't deny that his words held merit. But what kind of generator did the Shinobi have to power such a mechanism?(CoughCough) "No! Acts on deflection rather than shielding, a more stable form perhaps? What kind of system do they use to be able to achieve such a feat in a massive scale" Salen muttered. Victus grunted as he pushed himself up onto his feet.

"What are we to do now! Was this entire campaign worthless!" If all Shinobi planets had such a mechanism installed then the probability of Citadel forces gaining any ground would be practically zero. If they didn't have the ability to eliminate the shielding their military effectiveness would be severely diminished.

"Not quite right" Salen said matter-of-factly. Victus passed an annoyed glance towards Salen, ordering with his eyes for the reptilian to say his piece. Seeing his colleague giving him the stink eye, Salen continued, "From the readings we took of the planet when entering the system, the shield had been activated continuously with the ships in space bearing close proximity with the planet itself. If my theory holds through, a ship would be able to pass through the shielding if they are slow enough, though given their close proximity within the planet's atmosphere planetary bombardment would be inadvisable"

Victus crossed his arms in thought. If that were the case then only Frigates would be able to enter as their tonnage wouldn't affect the planet's gravity. Going from that Victus decided it would be a better idea if the main invasion force concentrated on the largest central continent while splinter forces held off Shinobi forces from taking the main forces sides. "Are you sure about this?" Victus asked. Salen gave him a dubious look.

"I'm a Salarian, I wouldn't be speaking if I wasn't sure" Salen quipped. Victus made a noncommittal hum, storing the thought for later as he clicked a button on his omni-tool.

"I want all groundside forces to be prepared for fast entry! Frigates are to follow behind with Fighter support to secure landing zones. I want Turian engineers with the vanguard force to establish a beach head." Victus ordered. Behind him, Victus saw the Salarian moving away towards the door.

"Going down to the surface. Will make sure to come back with sample technology." Salen rapid-fired as he ran away. Victus watched him go before shaking his head and rounding back to the holographic table, silently wishing he was going down with his men to the enemies planet.

XXXXShinobi GarrisonXXXX

ANBU Commander Falcon gripped the dashboard of the Military Grade Humvee as the vehicle veered itself into the parking lot of Sayang's garrison base. The Commander was internally bristling as his car manouvered around the cityscape. The Commander had arrived on the planet after formally interrogating the captured POWs, the three Generals that had been in charged of the Citadel retaliation, the two Turians captured during their attack on Lao and the pirate that had attacked _The Kurama_. The information they provided was invaluable, though he had to use unsavory methods on them to have gleaned as much as he had. He had planned on using Sayang as a small intermediary as he connected with Shinobi Command but in a sudden ambush, Citadel forces had somehow cloaked themselves and entered Shinobi space in an unidentified manner. This worried Falcon, if the enemy had somehow fixed their current FTL problems than the Shinobi wouldn't be able to hold their one-sided advantage. There was also the invisibility but Falcon had already devised of ways to deal with cloaked ships for a long time, he was ANBU afterall.

"Genin stop here" The Genin that had been driving him slammed his foot down on the brakes, a little bit too hard for Falcon's liking but it got the job done as the vehicle skidded to a stop in front of the Shinobi Garrison HQ. Falcon patted the Genin on the shoulder before hopping out of the vehicle. The ANBU had his black cloak wrapped around his shoulders, his ANBU mask secured safely over his face and tanto blade resting on his thigh.

If Falcons last update was still accurate Sayang had a garrison of 50 000 Shinobi soldiers, most of them located within the central city with a dozen fireteams spread out in between with outposts in regular intervals. So at best Falcon was dealing with a large force within an urban environment with smaller pockets spread out in all directions who would have no where to go if the enemy bull rushed the center. "Commander Falcon" The ANBU twisted his head just enough to acknowledge another ANBU that had dropped right in front of him.

"Panther, what were you able to gather?" Panther was dressed in the typical ANBU uniform, nothing out of the ordinary except for the pitch black mask he wore on his face.

"The highest ranking person here is a Low-Kage going by the name of Risai Tonaka, he's currently preparing his men on the North and West openings of the town and setting up Etherion AA Guns on the buildings surrounding the HQ. The colony itself doesn't have an Etherion in working condition right now." Falcon cupped his chin in deep thought. He had only brought an escort detail of five ANBU, the other four were probably coordinating with the defense force while the other Shinobi would be busy with preparing barricades and encampments.

"Tell me Panther where do you think would be the most likeliest place for the enemy to assault?"

"The HQ, Sir. They obviously want to own this planet quickly before the Shinobi reinforcements arrive, which may not be able to come too soon as the 1st and 2nd fleet are behind enemy lines, the 3rd fleet is a logistics fleet filled with Medical ships and Cruisers while the 4th Fleet is spread out between the outer colonies. We'd probably be on our own until one of the Guardians can amass enough troops to relieve us" Panther answered honestly.

Falcon sighed to himself, "I knew this was going to happen one way or the other. We came in this war with too little numbers. Maybe before the Colonial wars, when we had four times the fleet we'd have been able to crush them quicker but right now we're just entrenching ourselves in a war of attrition. If news that the enemy were able to find one of our planets and besiege us make it out, the public outcry will be enormous and the government can't afford to lose any more troops with new recruits going gung ho thinking they're being heroes. We need the men not the cannon fodder" Pulling out a piece of paper from his back pocket, Falcon gripped the small flimsy tightly. "This information could change that for us, we could end this war in one swoop." Just as he finished his sentence Falcon heard a sudden cry fill the air. Twisting his head upwards, the Commander bit back a curse as he saw Frigates suddenly descend into the atmosphere followed by hundreds of transport ships.

The sound of whirring bullets filled the air and Falcon saw a three man Shinobi team operating an Etherion AA gun, their bullets dropping three transports before they had to duck down from incoming fire. A few stray shots slammed against the pavement nearest to Falcon and the Commander dropped to the ground with a dolphin dive.

A squad of Shinobi behind him however were caught unaware and were burnt to a crisp by the explosions. The ANBU ripped his tanto free from his thigh and jumped onto the nearest building he could find. His feet adhered themselves onto the buildings side before he sprinted upwards in phenomenal speeds. Panther, who had remained on the ground, had to blink his eyes in surprise as he watched his Commander blur in front of him faster than anything he had ever seen (And that's pushing it for Shinobi's) before he leaped off the top and landed atop an enemy troop transport. The ANBU Commander brought his tanto down on the ships cockpit before he performed a swift set of handhelds.

Even from where he was Panther heard the sound of lightning cackling and he saw the Commanders hand sliced downward from where he had embedded his blade before blue blood gushed out from where he had cut. The Commander jumped off the falling transport before landing back onto the building.

"Panther! Get the Shinobi forces to take cover in the buildings! Destroy as many troop transports as you can before reforming on the outskirts! No matter what do not let any enemy units land within the city proper!" Panther made a quick nod before rallying nearby soldiers who were trying to knock the birds out of the air using Earth bullets. They quickly got up and ran to the nearest building, their kunai knives already glistening.

XXXX

Saren Arterius groaned as his body ached. His head was spinning and he had barely the barest thought entering his mind as he felt a weight on his body. Opening his eyes, he held back the need to yell as he saw the soulless eyes of a dead Turian staring back at him. Saren sucked in a deep breath and then immediately began coughing as the stank of blood twisted his lungs into knots. "Is anyone alive!" Saren asked. There was a brief rustle before a few groans answered his call.

"Deeta here!" A Turian Private Saren knew little of replied. The young Arterius sighed in relief, at least he wasn't alone in this mess.

"Private where are you?" There was the groan of metal and Saren briefly panicked that the wreckage of the troop transport was about to cave in but instead he saw a beam of metal be moved away. Out from the debris a rather large Turian stood up, his broad shoulders and sharp talons a rarity in average day Turians.

"Sir" The large Turian said as he took large strides towards the downed Staff Sergeant. The Turian carefully placed his arm around the dead Turian on top of Saren and when he pulled a weight was lifted off his chest but with it came another searing pain.

"Sir, there seems to be an iron bar...well, stabbed into you by your side. I'll have to remove it and I don't have a proper medical kit, this will hurt" Saren gritted his teeth as he nodded his head in acceptance. With careful and baited breath Deeta coiled his fingers around the metal bar before ripping it out in a quick and smooth motion. Saren lurched forward but the action only caused the pain of the removal to spike even further. He almost screamed if it wasn't for Deeta clamping a large hand down on his mouth. For a full minute Saren gripped Deeta's wrist tightly as his legs spasmed from the pain but eventually he recovered and he felt his hands slackened by his sides.

"Alright Sir, I bandaged it up as best I could." Deeta informed him. Saren looked down on himself and saw a standard bandage wrapped around his body. The pain was there and the Turian could kill from some painkillers but for now that was enough. Looking to his side Saren caught sight of his assault rifle and didn't hesitate to pick it up. Deeta saw what his Staff Sergeant did and immediately followed by picking a rocket launcher and an assault rifle.

"Do we keep going with our objective Sir?" Saren turned blurrily but determinedly towards Deeta. He only gave a moments hesitation before he tossed a bag of explosives towards the other Turian.

"We have to keep going. We're the lynchpin for this invasion remember" Deeta was silent for a moment before finally nodding his head in acceptance. Saren watched as the larger Turian darted off towards a building, no doubt going to find a route to move on with while Saren quietly stayed behind, passing a glance towards a building just off the horizon. For a moment Saren drifted back to the sight of the Asari-like figure that had destroyed their transport. His talons coiled by his sides.

"I'll find you brother. I swear it"

_**In loving Memory of Monty Oum. Animator, Idol, Friend.**_

_**We will forever cherish the moments you have graced us and with all our hearts and soul we promise to follow our dreams in your honor. May your family rest easy and your friends think of you always. This community, this family, will forever hold you dear to our hearts. **_

_**Because when RT reaches its success, we'll always remember the man who could not be with them but had so selflessly paved the way for them.**_

_**June 22 1981-February 1st 2015. You were so young, you were so great.**_


	15. Chapter 15

_Asari Controlled Space_

_Thessia_

C steadied his breath, his hands coiled around the grip of his rifle, the weapon cooled, steam rising as his body's temperature heated. C was getting agitated, being on an enemy homeworld and being constantly harassed by blue bitches was indeed a pain. C would have gotten used to it, he had after all fought in the Colonial Rebellion. Providence keep wasn't a new concept for him, round up the local populace of big bustling cities, tie them up and huddle them near the city's megastructures, rip away any incentives of an orbital bombardment and remove any civilian resistance with immediate control. C had butted the heads of a few Asari and Turian children, surprise as he was to see a quarian was the one that was caring for them. It was strange, for a Shinobi, a child was precious but they were also smart, they understood warfare even in their age, as expected considering their roots, but these aliens had children that were too carefree and selfish. They whined and cried as they held their bleeding noses and the parents glared at him with hatred.

He understood the hatred they showed him, it was indeed the same reaction Colonial's would show as he did the same to their children when he was a greenhorn recruit but at least Shinobi children were tougher and knew better than to stir the adults raging emotions, or perhaps he was biased. In any case, Asari Commando teams had been performing hit and runs on the soldiers stationed on Thessia for the past couple of months. Food became a treasured friend and soldiers got by with just food pills for now, with the ever growing time they were spending on Thessia, shooting down transport ships and dealing with any they missed, the 10 467 men were getting restless.

C hated being restless. His hand shot out and pierced straight through the hard wall that he was leaning against. A sharp yell was heard on the other side before his hand slammed itself into the soft flesh of what was no doubt an Asari, she screamed before her head was turned into jelly as it was crushed in between C's hand and the wall. There were more yells and C retracted his hand just as they started firing. C's small platoon were scouring other levels of the building, Suiren was busy in an officers meeting so Bravo Company was acting independently which was eliminating a group of irritating Asari's.

The wall that C was up against suddenly shuddered as Mass Effect bullets slammed into them. His teeth snarled and when half the wall suddenly crumbled he had decided that it would be a wasted effort waiting for them to stop shooting.

In Shinobi speed, faster than the Citadel Races could follow, C ducked into the room while allowing his shields to take most of the splash damage. Sparks could have been seen flowing out of his eyes as he twisted right, causing the Asari to turn her gun in the same direction but C had done that as a feint and he twirled to the left, dropped his gun and pulled his kunai free. The blade slashed through the Asari's spinal column, killing her near instantaneously before C twisted and shot the kunai towards another Asari. Her kinetic barriers didn't activate and the blade was sent free but in a stroke of luck she managed to dodge the lethal projectile in time.

A devilish grin formed on his face as he rolled downward, avoiding the sprays of the other Asari. There was a chance C could die here, afterall he was outnumbered in a close-quarters environment, all it would take was one lucky shot for them to take control of the fight but C was wound up too tight to care. He needed to kill off some steam.

It was in the blink of an eye that C found himself crouched right below the Asari that had dodged his knife before he lunged upwards and gripped her neck tightly. With a flick of his thumb he had crushed her windpipe and he skillfully manouvered her body in front of himself to make her his meat shield. It was more or less effective, the kinetic barriers were still activated after all.

When he was close enough he threw the Asari's body towards the other Asari and due to close proximity they couldn't stop it. "That's alright!" C roared, "Entertain me some more!" The Asari faltered, her stance crumbling to the dominant creature that was C as he hefted her sister-in-arms far above his own head. "You Citadel guys are really pissing me off!" C knew he was breaking professional code but he could care less. He had been given a nickname in his company during the rebellion, 'The Two-Face killer', when war came calling, when he was in the battlefield for far too long C would revert to this personality.

With a mighty yell C brought the dead corpse down onto the lonesome Asari, not using enough force to turn her into smoosh but enough to break a rib or two, maybe puncture her lung. She coughed up blood as her back crashed against the cold hard floor and C grinned in satisfaction at his work.

The Asari tried to push herself away from C but the seasoned veteran was quick to wrap his hands around her neck and lift her off the ground. "You bear the same markings as the ones from earlier" C muttered.

"Lady Benezia will end you" The Asari spat. C frowned, he was about to ask more questions but before he could the Asari suddenly gasped, her head snapping upwards befores he fell limp in his hands.

"You ANBU types really know how to piss a guy off" C growled. From the shadows Zaeed calmly walked out, his mask hiding his expression from the Shinobi.

"She wouldn't be able to give us useful information, even if she wanted to" Zaeed said calmly, his hands resting easily up against the nearest wall, "These walls are pretty thick though, my pulse could barely move all the way through" C let out an annoyed breath.

"Just how long are they planning on leaving us here!" C picked up his gun and frowned. "Even my gun is getting tired" The barrel of his weapon had several chipped pieces and the grip had been slightly crushed, the indentations resembling those of human fingers.

"Maybe you should shoot your gun instead of using it as a club. That Mitarashi is a pain, she's turning everyone into psychos" Zaeed shrugged off C's glare before calmly walking out of the room.

When the ANBU disappeared C clicked his tongue, "We're at least sane compared to you"

_Unknown Area of Space_

_Nazara_

Nazara calmly flew through the vast expanse that was space. His hibernation had been awoken too soon but his mind was still focused on his objective. The entity that was Nazara did not have the capacity for idle thoughts, he much rather enjoy unprecedented slaughter. The Mass Effect fields on his body sped his speed even faster and the small troupe of Geth ships were barely able to keep up. It was disgusting to think that something of Nazara's stature had to ally himself with creatures like these machines.

He was after all an ultimate lifeform compared to them, a synthetic being that could not age and with a sentient mind, he was the epitome of synthetic life. "Leave me" Nazara commanded. The Geth stalled, their engines suddenly turning cold. Nazara could feel the confusion and surprise that the Geth were transmitting, their consensus caught off guard with the sudden order. "I will not ask again" The Geth ships reactivated and they began a steady retreat from the obviously irate Nazara. The Reaper would have scoffed but he wasn't an organic so he settled on just turning his back on them.

Waking up after long years of slumber always made Nazara frustrated but in this cycle it was different. He had awoken years too early for the Harvest and worst of all, it was them that was the cause of it. Those vile creatures that had been the Protheans. Nazara finally reached his destination, a small asteroid that was outside the Citadel races relay systems. Here he silently landed onto the floating rock, ignoring the blown out reaper corpses surrounding it and the likewise mutilated Prothean ships that took up the majority of the scrapyard. Nazara landed with a small thud and with his synthetic eye he quietly watched his surroundings and began to think.

'There is still too much we do not know' Nazara's electronic voice rang out through the area. The Citadel races were in chaos, the human ships, though outnumbered, were of far better quality as they weren't restrained by Eezo and with the added advantage of the Citadel not being able to counter attack, Nazara was sure the humans would win. He just had to ensure that hostility would still remain prevalent even among the cowardliest of the races. The Volus were hiding, the Hanar and Drell were paranoid, the Quarians were running and the Geth were eager pawns. The Krogan were still a cause of concern but for now they could be left behind.

'Are you proud of your actions, Prothean?' Nazara growled at a small destroyed base that sat in one of the asteroids indentations. Somehow, Nazara imagined a Prothean walking out with a News pad in his hands quietly humming to himself.

Nazara quietly entertained the idea of blowing him up but thought better of it. He simply sat and contemplated his next move.

_Shinobi Controlled Space_

_Sayang_

_Saren Arterius_

Saren crouched low in contemplation. Bombers had just recently flown down and scorched an area of densely packed enemy soldiers, though one of the bombers had been lost by the Shinobi acrobatics. This had given Saren and Deeta enough leeway to take cover in a building without meeting an enemy combatant as well as allowing Saren to figure out their next move.

Deeta made a rustling noise next to him and Saren passed a look over his shoulder to see the burly Turian looking over the corpses of a Turian sniper pair, one of them was charred while the other had died with his eyes wide open. A bad way to go and Saren didn't know to which he was referring to.

"Sir, I found some spare thermal clips!" Saren nodded and Deeta tossed Saren the sniper rifle. "A present for you too" Saren frowned, he didn't like looking at another man's weapon as a present but he kept his musings to himself.

"How's it looking out there?" Deeta asked, his back against Saren as he watched out for any hostiles. Saren made a small growl, much too quiet for Deeta to here as he caught sight of another transport ship suddenly tumble to the ground.

"I've counted at least a dozen firefights suddenly go cold and what little is left are prone to go boom with bombers flying above" Deeta winced, he got the idea of fighting tooth and nail but still, "Though we're gaining ground, we've started cornering them with snipers and heavy munitions fire"

"And what are we doing" Deeta asked. Saren paused, lifting his Sniper Rifle up to spy down an area that was lighting up like an Asari party.

"We are going there" Saren said lowly. Deeta made annoyed grumble.

"You know I can't see what you're looking at right?...I mean, Sir" Saren huffed but lowered his head in understanding. Saren tossed a pair of binoculars to the other Turian and together they spied down a little ways down the road they were on to see a cluster of buildings surrounding a giant tree looking-thing, Deeta raised an eyebrow as he saw a dozen Turian fighters trying to shoot it down, and on each building was an AA-Gun that was swatting the aircrafts out of the sky like annoying bugs. Deeta wasn't dumb.

"Ahh...so a suicide mission?" Deeta gulped, especially when he saw a whole platoon of those Shinobi race out onto the open road in dazzling speed.

"Only if you don't do as I say," Saren warned.

Deeta rolled his eyes at the Turian's bravado, "You sound like my mother" Saren clicked his mandibles and holstered the sniper onto his back before turning around and fastening a rope that was attached to his hip around an exposed railing.

"Tie yourself up" Deeta nodded and after a while the both of them scaled down the building, their Turian feet landing onto the pavement of the Shinobi ground. "Deeta take point, head towards the marked building" A waypoint appeared on both their maps and the larger Turian quickly shouldered his rifle and moved deeper into the city.

Old habits kicked in and Saren found himself eyeing every rooftop and alleyway with his Sniper Rifle. The Turian was getting jittery but he'll make do. Deeta swerved his gun to the side but a sharp intake of breath and the Turian scrambling back into cover gave Saren all he needed to know.

"How many?" He inquired. Deeta took a moment to calm down before answering.

"Five, they just jumped down from the building, Sir" Saren ignored the extra bit of information. Deeta seemed to still be recoiling at exactly what their enemy was capable of. Saren was already steeled to face them and so he was prepared for whatever physics defying abilities the Shinobi would no doubt throw at them.

Deeta moved over and Saren took a spot against the wall and he quietly eyed the small huddled group of aliens that took cover against an overturned car. By the look of it the group had just left combat with one of them sporting a bleeding arm. "They don't seem like a threat...for now" Deeta flared his mandibles. His superior was insane, these guys could take down a legion on their own. Sneaking up on them would do no good and even then the Shinobi shields could take a sniper round relatively well.

'Well, outside of mods' Saren thought and he did just that. Supplying an overload to his sniper, Saren eyed the group of aliens and he saw one of them jump up onto a ledge. Saren narrowed his eyes and he nodded his head towards Deeta. "Prepare your rocket launcher, place a shredder mod on it" The Private nodded and Saren bent down into a firing position.

When the Shinobi on the ledge had his back turned and prepared for another jump, Saren clicked his rifle twice and the bullet slammed into the back of knee. The first bullet got through the shields and then the second went straight through and pulverized the knee cap. The Shinobi cried out in pain and his compatriots ducked down into the car as one of them moved to catch their falling comrade. Saren grinned and with a minute signal Deeta rounded out of cover and fired it at the car. The results were satisfying.

With their friend currently falling and an unknown amount of enemy soldiers facing them, the Shinobi soldiers were forced to play it safe giving Deeta's rocket the chance to do some damage. When the rocket impacted against the car the explosion had cause the car to do the same. The Shinobi behind the car were either killed or flung back due to their dexterity. One slammed against the farthest wall and the force was good enough to break his neck. The other Shinobi had became cushion for the one that had his kneecaps done in.

The one that became a cushion pushed his friend off to the side and he sprang up, fire dancing in his eyes. The primal eyes caught sight of Deeta and he literally disappeared before reappearing in front of the burly Turian. Deeta fumbled in his steps and tripped on himself which evidently saved him as the Shinobi who was trying to punch him missed and struck the wall the Turian was using for cover. "Agh! Damn Kumo steel" The Shinobi swore. Deeta sprang up and in act of either stupidity or bravery, Saren didn't know which, the Turian punched the Shinobi.

"AGH! What are you stone?!" The Shinobi kneed Deeta in the gut and a few snapping noises was heard. Deeta let out a flanged gasp before the Shinobi grabbed Deeta by the shoulders and tossed him against the wall. But Sareb wasn't just sitting by, he quickly tossed a grenade that wasn't activated by Deeta's feet. The Shinobi who saw it reacted on instinct and jumped into the air (That's new) far above Deeta's head. Saren snapped his sniper rifle up, he expected the enemy to dodge right but it didn't change the fact that he was a sitting duck in the air. With a sharp bang the Shinobi was stripped of his shields and then Deeta made the last act as he activated the grenade and tossed it towards to where the Shinobi was undoubtedly going to land. When he landed the grenade went off the Shinobi was killed.

Deeta clutched his chest as he heaved Turian blood and Saren was quick to kill the last Shinobi. In this situation taking prisoners was not an option as report of enemy combatants that had been cleaved apart had been healed in seconds before rejoining the fight.

"By the spirits, give me the Krogan, the Geth, hell I'd even take the Rachni but that hurt" Deeta wheezed. Saren sighed watching the only other Turian soldiers curled up into a ball. Carefully he adjusted the straps of his backpack that was carrying the explosives to stare at the skyscraper that the one Shinobi had jumped on.

An idea popped up on his head and tossed a look to Deeta. "Sir, you're going to get me killed no matter what happens" Saren shrugged his shoulders.

_Shinobi Controlled Space_

_Unknown Area_

_Takashi Seiko_

Takashi sat still in his small leather chair. His fingers intertwined between each other as he quietly stared at the vast empty space outside.

"You seem deep in thought" A soft old voice whispered next to him. Takashi didn't turn to him but he nonetheless answered.

"Sayang was attacked. With how spread apart the fleet is, it's up to the Guardians to solve it" Takashi said quietly though he still held to the voice of authority he always carried.

"Then why don't you go? Out of all the Guardians you could rally a whole fleet in seconds. GHOST still follows you" The voice said skeptically.

"I'm making a point, the words of peace that were spoken long ago have been forgotten. The Pirate Wars, The Mercenary epidemic, The Colonial Rebellion. In-fighting between Shinobi have dulled us and we care little to that old Uzumaki's words. Those old tunes were playing during the Rebellion, finally, but that was a one-man quartet I expect to make an orchestra by the end of this war. Grief, realization and curiosity will bring out that old song"

"You say these words but you don't believe them"

Takashi lowered his head, his lips set in a straight line. "I believe in kids running around with MAC guns filled with drugs, I believe in men torturing men and draining them dry of blood, I believe in wars being fought for petty reasons. Peace? I'll believe it when I see it. You thought me this after all"

"It wasn't intentional" Takashi could hear the grimace but he didn't care. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Those are hollow words"

"As are your actions. Striving so hard for a cause you don't support" Takashi shook his head.

"It's not about me you old goat." Takashi went back to looking at the stars, "It's about everything else that I'm blind to"

"You've changed since that furry inside your head" The old man seemed amused.

Takashi grabbed his head in pain, irritation lighting up his features. "That furry can hear you" Soft laughter erupted and the dark room was bathed in the outside stars light. Light that was hundreds of years old, light of dead stars that were too stubborn to go out without leaving a mark. What wonders had they seen? What warnings were they screaming.

**A lot of stuff happened this chapter, that's cause I'm hoofing it to finish up on the Citadel War Arc and move on to the next one. Stuff happens, shit happens. Again to any unsatisfied readers, go back a few chapters to read my previous letter to all you folks. I like bantering with reviewers, I've had fun with them all, flamers or otherwise, in discussing the story and listening to their views but really if you're unsatisfied with how it's going on now then it's only gonna get worse for you from now on.**

**I thank you regardless if you enjoyed it or not and if you're a previous supporter I cannot express my gratitude to you. I feel blessed in knowing my story had sparked the interest of quite a number of people and I'm sorry if I couldn't give you what you needed or wanted.**

**On another note my lil bro is starting to get better but my marks plummeted due to the long hours. So I'm sorry if I'm not updating all that frequently like I did in the early days.**

**Trane7 signing off.**


	16. Chapter 16

_Shinobi Controlled Space_

_Sayang_

Panther weaved underneath the jab of a Turian cabal, the biotic soldier flaring his energy as he backpedaled away while tossing a singularity. The small ball of dark energy did little to perturb Panthers stride. His skills was not comparable to the Commander by any means but he was ANBU and they were just as good in combat as they were in assasination. With a flick of his wrist Panther had _shunshin _right behind the cabal and brought his tanto up into the Turians spine and brutally twisted. He was dead before he even hit the floor.

Panther ducked as mass effect bullets launched overhead. The ANBU rolled forward and slid behind the cover of a car as he pulled out a kunai blade. ANBU never used guns if they could help it, it was natural after all. Shinobi cannons could not be silent, well they _could _but they were mildly inefficient when your target were other Shinobi. So ANBU Operatives tend to lean back on the old ways that their ancestors favored. Of course the old saying 'Don't bring a knife to a jutsu fight' still applied, ANBU training regimes were harsh enough that Panther had a number of options to take that would negate this disadvantage. But against Citadel Races, that disadvantage was slightly diminished, couple that with the Yggdrasil tree on the planet? Panther was nigh unstoppable for now.

The ANBU Operative dashed out of cover, palming a set of kunai knives he launched them through the air, growing satisfied when they gutted three Turians. The sharp bang of a sniper was heard, an especially _loud_ sniper and Panther ducked down just in time for a particularly nasty anti-material bullet to bypass him and obliterate the road next to him. "Oh?" Panther breathed. Snipers were a fairly new concept for Shinobi soldiers, often times their keen eyesight and ability to jump about would negate the use of a sniper but the Citadel Races seem to hold them in high regard, calling them the silent angels of battlefields. Panther couldn't deny that they had many times boxed experienced Shinobi squads in kill zones with no way to get out without casualties, their presence on the field weren't going to change anything so long as Panther had his winning cards.

"I'll do this quick" Forming a swift set of hand seals, the ground beneath Panther began to crack and then it widened to make a beeline for a group of Turian soldiers hiding out within the remains of a clothes shop. When the crack had reached them large Earth spikes popped up and speared them through. Panther smirked but he then lurched forward as a shotgun blast had slammed against his shields. Another new concept for the Shinobi, 'shotguns'. They were quite ingenious in design and idea, making dodging very difficult to say the least.

Turning around Panther was only surprise for a moment to see an Asari in place rather than a Turian. They were fighting three species, so it stood to reason that at least two would be in this battle. This particular Asari looked weary though and quite a few wounds adorned her body, Panther concluded that she had just stumbled on the battle by accident, likely having just escaped another life or death situation, and decided to cut her losses in this one confrontation. Panther had seen this type of thinking a lot of times during the rebellion, from both sides, and despite himself he couldn't help but pity them. A soldiers life was hard and it only took a bit to turn even the toughest into bubbling messes.

The Asari yelled something in her tongue, Panther hadn't had the time to utilise the Yamanaka Wartime Informational Assistance Package that was dropped on his desk, so he couldn't quite make out the meaning behind her shout but he didn't really need to. The blue woman levelled her shotgun on Panther and let loose another volley, the ANBU operative leapt away, strengthened by the natural chakra that blanketed the whole planet like a handmade wool sweater from granny, Panther was able to clear the pellets before they struck against his shields again but just as he touched ground, he was forced back into the air when a Turian cabal suddenly appeared behind him and tried to slash him with his claws coated with cabal venom. The sniper from before returned and this time he fired another round and it slammed against Panther as he was in the air. A pop sound was heard, as audible as daylight, and the bullet slammed against Panther's armored vest, the conductive metal underneath hardening where the bullet struck stopping the bullet but Panther was launched away and he landed painfully on his back.

"That was sloppy" Panther shook his head, his ribs were broken but nothing a quick visit from the doctor won't fix. He was just glad his armored vest held out after his shields failed and to quicken the process the Shinobi pumped his own chakra to the seal system that powered his shields. In a minute the protective barrier returned but Panther was already up and moving by the time he realised that. He couldn't deny the Citadel Races being smart and their tenacity to keep fighting was commendable but in a ground fight, Shinobi would be stronger and again, Yggdrasil tree everybody!

Panther slid on his back and kicked the legs out from right under the Asari and grabbing her by the leg he used her as a flail to strike the cabal. A sickening crack was heard and Panther grinned to himself. A group of Shinobi were a little ways down the road and the ANBU Operative had been assigned to help out any stuck Shinobi Squads that had been caught with their pants down when the enemy ships came down on them. They were firing at the Yggdrasil tree too, for whatever good that would do though they didn't seem like they knew exactly what the tree was and just kept firing at the base of it hoping it would topple over and kill everyone.

The sniper from before fired another round and Panther was getting pissed at his refusal to die. With a flick of his tanto, hardening it with Earth chakra, he casually flicked his blade to intercept the bullet. The results were less than satisfactory. He managed to deflect the bullet but his blade was shattered from the impact and Panther grimaced as he stared at the broken weapon. "That's coming out of my paycheck" His hand pulled out his pistol that was attached to his back, a weapon he had rarely ever used, and channeling wind chakra into the weapon he fired three consecutive shots. From where he sat he knew he missed the first two shots and the last one disabled the sniper but not the shooter, he saw a rough shape of a body bouncing back before the telltale sign of an exploding gun followed.

Panther frowned, "I'm getting rusty with guns. Never liked them anyways" A cabal reappeared behind him but this time Panther just gave him a half-hearted glance before kicking him in the gut and twisting the Turians neck. Panther then tossed the body aside and looked to the Shinobi Squad he saved.

They were pretty good, they held their own admirably well as they were engaged by several Turian cabals -they seemed to be everywhere today- and were quick to rush to the aid of any of their team members should they required assistance. A good team. Panther raised an eye when a sea of insects rose from the confines of one Shinobi's vest and began to devour the Turians. An Aburame? That was new, they usually never left the inner colonies and Aburame soldiers were becoming increasingly rare as older more potent bloodlines were rediscovered through copious amount of trial and error. Hell there was a bloodline that allowed people to _make_ war beasts with their _chakra_. Naturally the Aburame's became less of an asset on the field, though Panther had seen many of them in the ANBU HQ on Shinobi no Chi.

Panther was about to make a comment to himself again -An old habit one develops when they spend literal months isolated from family, friends and even comrades for the ANBU annual Death March- when the ground suddenly rumbled. The ANBU blinked before looking up just in time to see a skyscraper that easily rose above some of the trees nearby begin to wobble before descending, in a really fast pace, towards the ground. The crash wasn't anywhere near Panther but he saw where it was going to land, it was literally a bridge between the outer part of the city towards the Yggdrasil tree where most of the AA Ethereal guns were placed. Panther blinked and just like that nearly _half _of the transports carriers in the sky suddenly made a U-turn while bombers swooped down to, well, bomb anywhere that gave even the most discreet opening towards the makeshift bridge. Panther cocked his head and then chuckled. "Smart little buggers aren't they" Panther more than felt the Aburame behind him flare at his remark, how he heard him from this distance was up to debate.

_Saren Arterius._

Saren bowed his head as the last of the bombs finished detonating. The building had already collapsed but Saren had to weaken it a little bit more so that it laid flat against the ground rather than have a small pillar support a small section of it which could give way at anytime, especially bad if there were soldiers on top of it.

The original mission was to blow up the AA guns around that massive tree -Which Saren thought was overcompensating for something- but given the fact that Deeta and he were just two Turians who were lucky in beating five battle-worn Shinobi, the Arterius decided in a better route. Here, at least enough men could be used to win a disadvantageous fight, no matter how you look at it.

"Deeta" The Turian by his side stared blankly at Saren, his hands gripping his assault rifle tightly. Saren couldn't help but roll his eyes, "I said 'fire in the hole' didn't I?" Deeta glared at his superior officer but held his tongue as he applied a basic field dressing, the Turian private was grumbling underneath his breath as he had just recently been scarred with an explosion happening a mere five metres away from him with the only thing keeping him safe was a wall and a metal door.

"Respectfully sir, you're an ass" Saren chuckled. That chuckle died almost instantly. Saren shifted his weight and went back to scanning the rooftops just in case another enemy squad dropped down. While he did thoughts of his brother plagued his mind, what were they doing to him? Was he alive? Had his mind been broken? They weren't pleasant thoughts but they were thoughts that couldn't be expelled so easily.

"Come on, the backups here" Saren nudged his head towards the transport carriers that dropped Asari Commandos and Turian Legions into the building. It would provide more than enough cover for them to travel through and with close quarters being put into play the Citadel Forces just had to get smart and corner some Shinobi. It was nice having a few Krogan Rebellion veterans within the Asari ranks, they needed that experience.

"Come on Deeta" The two Turians made their way towards their reinforcements. As they did Saren couldn't help but think that the Krogan would be particularly useful in this war but uplifting them again was a bad idea in and of itself and the DMZ zone was particularly strict on just what and why Krogan get out of Tuchanka for. The Genophage also took down the Krogan effectiveness. Maybe clones of Krogan would be better, infertile mindless beasts that could probably be produced just as fast as the Krogan fertility rate before the Genophage. Saren thought about it before shaking his head with a long sigh. _That _would never happen.

Just as they linked up with the 501st Legion an explosion rocked the side of the building and the Turian in charge began barking orders. "I want turrets set up, Barriers placed alongside the entrance, no one is getting behind us!" The Turians all roared in affirmative, the 501st was one of the largest Legion in the Turian armed forces, a long standing rumor that the Hierarchy had messed up with troop assignment and created the most diverse and probably experienced Legion in the Turian army. Engineers, Tech Experts, Cabals (**A/N: Holy shit!)**, Infiltrators and whatever they could get their hands on. These men had fought in countless battles with pirates, separatists and even had the occasional run in with the Terminus. Saren felt a little bit safer with them than anywhere else.

The Turian in charge was named Reko Riese, a strange name for a Turian, but strange was what the 501st thrived in. The battle with the Shinobi didn't scare them, in fact they seemed excited and if the rumors were true then Saren was sure that the 501st weren't going in blind, they had a plan and they were ready to get it done. Saren shook his head away with the thoughts and instead listened to Reeko. "You guys were part of the 51st Platoon right? Nevermind, I don't really care. If you've got a gun and know how to use it then we could use it for the push through the building. It may be cleared for now but we're going to be engaging in the mother of all firefights in there, an urban _indoors_ environment, so we'll take all the help we can get"

Saren nodded his head and together the Turians followed as the 501st lead the way into the building. The Asari commandos assisting in maintaining the entrance as Shinobi engaged to try and stop the Legion before they reached the AA guns. Saren flared his mandibles, happy to be out of the road, he felt too exposed there, and went back to keeping the butt of his rifle against his shoulder. Fourteen or so minutes passed, all of which were spent with Turians pushing as many desks or chairs over or out of the way just in case they got into a battle and needed cover, some were even prepping the place with mines and making sure to mark them so the Asari's don't accidentally trip one and kill themselves. Then without warning a shot rang out and a Turian fell to the ground, a smoking black mark on his forehead. "Cover!" The shout was met with immediate action, Turians dived for their already pre-made cover while other Turians began falling back to keep their distance from the Shinobi. Saren was surprised at their practised movement, they were fast and well-oiled and they covered as much firepower in front of them to make it difficult for the enemy to try and bullrush them. It looked like a typical spray and pray but it was methodical in its deployment and damn if it didn't look impressive.

"Get the drones out" Saren watched as several drones suddenly swiveled to life, the engineers that made them were quickly sending them out to deal with the Shinobi. Saren popped out of cover and began firing off shots as well and he was pleasantly surprise as the drones began zapping the Shinobi with electricity, they weren't doing any significant damage to them, mostly annoying them and if they were really lucky one of them might actually jump from the shock just enough for a stray bullet to hit him, but otherwise all the drones did were cause some pretty verbal outcries from the enemy. Then one of them shot it.

The drone exploded in a cackle of mad energy and Saren was surprised as the Shinobi was shocked by a massive electrical _storm_. Saren could feel the radiation that spiked from that. "By the spirits is that a mini WMD?" Saren cursed. The engineer that deployed just gave a grin.

"You should have heard what the other guy said when we made this to kill a separatist general. Knocked out for being too cruel" Saren shook his head but he realised that the device didn't kill the Shinobi rather it stunned them long enough to allow the Turians to kill them off and/or try to dog pile them into submission. Saren already knew that wasn't going to work as the Shinobi that were dog piled effortlessly pushed the Turians off him, snapping bones and necks as he did, but the 501st were quick to put them down. But just as suddenly another group of Shinobi came into view and the Turian assault men adjusted their aim to include these guys and to their surprise, a large blue shield appeared in front of the Shinobi, several of their comrades using them as a shield to move forward without injury.

"They got some new toys too" Deeta muttered. He quickly threw a grenade down and with how tight the Shinobi were together combined with how small the area was there was just no way for the Shinobi to kick the grenade away in time before it went off. Again, Saren was annoyed to see that the grenade only knocked off their shields with only one casualty or more on their side while several Turians were lying on the ground with wounds or worse _dead_.

Just as they were about to curse themselves a singularity was launched in the Shinobi flanks. They didn't seem perturbed by it until another biotic hit slammed against it and it detonated in a fiery display. The upside was that the Shinobi were dead, the downside was that some of the wood in the room caught fire. "Put those fires out!" Reko demanded. Behind him an Asari strolled forward, followed by a dozen more.

"Aren't you supposed to be guarding the entrance?" He accused. She shook her head before replying.

"It's clear, _for now_, at least. If you want to hound me then do it after we take out those AA guns and we can start getting reinforcements en masse. Hopefully with more fire support" Reko didn't seem to have a response but Saren didn't expect one. The Turian Legion turned around and continued onwards. It went on this way, the Turians would lose men, a lot of them, and the same trick of the Drones creating a lightning storm didn't work all the time. So they got creative and used the Drones to destroy any cover that the Shinobi were using, a cabal even smeared a Drone with cabal venom so that when it exploded it would splatter the Shinobi with it.

But it seems the Shinobi had a new trick every time. They pulled out shields they never used before, they used little trinkets and gadgets the Turians had never even imagined, like a disk circled with razor sharp blades being tossed around or a bracelet that launched small spikes that immobilised anyone struck with it. It seems that either the Shinobi were holding cards close to themselves or the war had made them creative. Saren wasn't sure if that was a good or bad sign.

It was a considerable amount of time later before the 501st and their Asari comrades reached the end of the building but instead of blowing the top off Reko instead detonated explosives on the sides. Turian troops poured out of the breaches and as expected Shinobi troops waited for them on the other side.

Thanks to their two-way assault the Turians were able to slide into cover fast enough to dodge death by a hairs width. Saren switched his assault rifle for his sniper and was quick to shoot down as many Shinobi soldiers he could see. The 501st gained ground, _fast_. They deployed their drones by the dozens and used manual control to increase their efficiency. But with each step the Turians took, the fall of a comrade followed. It unsettled Saren greatly seeing some of Palavens best who came in prepared and ready to fight these unnatural monsters and they were still losing more than they got.

Saren fired one last shot that was able to punch through a Shinobi shield just enough to hit his forehead. The Turian raised a delicate eyebrow. Tungsten rounds were good too apparently, he'd have to store that information away. Deeta swiveled his rocket launcher around and fired, the explosive projectile impacting against a building that took down a platoon of Shinobi with it. "Good job Deeta" Saren muttered before moving forward with the 501st engineers towards one of the buildings that was a platform for the Shinobi AA guns.

The way up was relatively clear, their guards had no doubt been the Shinobi holding ground moments ago. So when Saren finally met saw the AA gun, he wondered if it was a decoy. The AA gun was triple barreled, a rarity for a mounted weapon. Two shoulder rests protruded from the back of the gun with two triggers below it, all of which were signs that the gun was capable of manual use but then came the strange writing all over the thing. Where wires should be had black ink that was indescribable and it was another mystery for Saren to get used to.

The Engineers began mumbling as they scanned the AA gun, their heads bobbing with every reply. Saren heard the words 'wires' and 'energy' he didn't particularly care. "Can you deactivate it?" The Turian tossed a look at Saren over his shoulder.

"We're trying to get information, we still don't know how these things work and even the smallest information helps the war effort" Saren begrudgingly nodded his head and went back to scanning the rooftops. He didn't like the idea of being exposed like this. Already he saw several other Turian engineers gathering around their own turrets to analyse, some foregoing it and strapping bombs down onto the automated contraptions. The guns were still firing away at any nearby Turian transports and Saren had to suppress the chill that went down his spine as the they swerved left and right to dodge the deadly projectiles.

He squinted his eyes against the haze of the natural fog, a side-effect to the many trees surrounding the city. He saw nothing, just rooftops after rooftops. That is until something in his peripheral moved. It looked like the outline of _something_ as it danced across the rooftops and then more of these anomalies popped up. His young Turian mind only needed a minute before he finally caught on. "Enemies with Tactical Cloaks!" He shouted. He didn't know if they were really Tactical Cloaks or more of their magic but the effect was all the same. The Turian engineers swiveled back around with their Phaeston rifles primed and ready while they abandoned their attempt for information in lieu of the new threat. Strapping explosives or grenades onto the metal of the gun one engineer could only blink before he found a knife lodged into the back of his cranium that later exploded and littered the area with his blood and guts.

Saren's stomach churned and he hoped back just in time to avoid another knife. Looking up, he saw a new type of the enemy aliens. The only ones that had been reported were the soldiers that were all black and another that wore some sort of camouflaged fatigues, the former was better trained than the latter and both were still deadly opponents. But this one was dressed in some sort of white vest with white arm guards and boots, on his face was some sort of black mask and behind him was another squad of Shinobi.

Saren quickly pulled out his Assault Rifle again, tungsten rounds spewing out of the weapon once he had it in a proper grip. The Turians by his side followed, their trigger fingers easing on the gun with practised precision to minimize the recoil. The new Shinobi rolled underneath the hail of gunfire and sprang up with devastating force to crush a Turians jaw with a palm thrust. Another Shinobi paused behind him and swarms of _insects_ lashed out from his vest to attack the Shinobi nearby.

Saren blanched as he saw Turians reduced to husks as the insects sucked them dry. He had barely the briefest moments to blink before the masked Shinobi was on him. It was only through instinct and instinct alone that he was able to leaped backwards away from the punch that he sent his way but even then the whiplash of wind that followed the fist slammed against Sarens face like a jackhammer.

That punch could have killed a thresher maw!

Sarens head swam from the indirect hit but he was not foolish enough to try and become an easy target. Aiming was useless with his head in the fritz. so instead he fired his rifle from the hip, the cackling sound of his bullets hitting _something_ was heard before he felt pain arched through his left shoulder, the painful sounds of bain cracking and skin ripping. A strangled cry left his lips before he was launched off the ground and into the asphalt. His throat made a choking sound as the muscles on the left side of his neck reacted vigorously to the damage on his shoulder.

His eyes grew hazy from the pain but his Turian pride wouldn't allow himself to go down without a fight. His talos snatched up a pistol by his side and he aimed it forward, one shot, two and then the third was punctuated with an audible pop.

His eyes snapped open and he saw with growing fear that the masked Shinobi was now running towards him, unafraid that his shields had been damaged and far too fast for Saren to get another shot off before he reached him. Then a loud crack was heard, deafening Sarens eardrums before the Shinobi's left kneecap blew open with a splatter. He faltered, an expression of surprise surely hidden by his mask, before he ducked down and avoided a bullet for his head.

Saren was only just able to acknowledge the information that was going through the radio comms. "STG Operative Salen to 501st Legion, your engineers are down and I can't reach the AA guns in time. There are enemy forces converging on the are-" Whatever else was being said was tuned out as Saren turned off his radio.

Nobody was getting up here so long as the Shinobi owned the rooftops. A loud explosion was heard off to the side and Saren turned just enough to see Deeta on an adjacent rooftop firing his at the AA guns on his side. The pieces of metal exploded into shrapnel and pieces, some flying debris catching a few Turians and Shinobi alike off guard. Saren smiled, a dry chuckle leaving his lips.

The sound of squelching was heard and the masked Shinobi was back on his feet, taking slow steps towards the Turian. Saren could see now that the _alien_ had his entire left leg cut clean off and the Shinobi was hoping towards him. The bullet must have been tipped with something explosive. Saren shook his head, leave it to the STG guys to do something daring like that.

The Shinobi was almost towards him, his fingers tightening themselves around a bloody blade- Turian blood. With a barely concealed smile Saren raised his weapon but the Shinobi didn't pause, he had shields that could stop the bullet even with the close range but Saren didn't mind, he wasn't aiming at him. "Good or bad I don't care," Saren whispered, "You're still going ten feet under with me" Clicking the weapon the bullet flew and the Shinobi dodged the bullet skillfully even with missing his leg but Saren wasn't aiming at him.

The bullet impacted against a piece of C4 strapped to an AA gun on the far side of the rooftop and the Shinobi cried out something in his tongue. The explosion caused a chain reaction with the engineer bodies that were lying close to it, their own volatile explosives that were in the middle of being prepped reacted to the heat and sparked to life. The last thing Saren saw as a trail of fire raced around the rooftop was the Shinobi blowing the ground out from under him, dropping him to the floor below. Saren could only tsk at the loss before pain engulfed him.

_Unknown Space_

_Nazara_

Nazara stared at the information that zipped about his core intelligence, the preserved and intact minds of thousands of Inusannon souls. The Reaper sat still on the asteroid as he processed the information.

**'Information reveals that element Zero still affects the 'Human' chakra system' **The Inusannon reaper said. His mind was slightly numbed as he reviewed centuries old data that the Protheans had collected. He found it despairing that a race that had the greatest potential as a Reaper had a DNA makeup too different to use.

**'The dark energy causes interference with the surrounding electromagnetic forces, creating a disruption field that negates the Chakra's potency and ability to react with it's surroundings or rather it would become sluggish, comparable to junk data with a virus. The liquidus state that the Chakra is suspended in creates a larger surface area for Eezo to react with. Interesting.' **Nazara paused, rereading a new set of charts that appeared.

**'Chakra seems to react negatively to Eezo due to some Prothean intervention, insurance to maintain their dominance should the 'Humans' rise into space' **For a brief moment Nazara contemplated the emotions that the Protheans felt on this decision, the still and quiet Inusannon minds simply providing mere whispers.

**'Redesigning of Dragon Teeth is recommended, electrically powered **

**mechanical components and Eezo would affect the Human-Husks capabilities. Nano-robotic technology recommended to interface with victims mind.' **Nazara felt the Inusannon minds within his intelligence core begin to stir. In a flash Nazara found himself reeling from the trillion experiences the once living minds felt as they had their organic bodies. Nazara quelled their thoughts, he himself feeling nothing as their screams echoed off the dull walls of his carapace.

Their words were dead, their minds gone from the centuries of death and destruction that they witnessed without any control of their actions. Their minds formed the gestalt of Nazaras processing ability, organics burned down to their simplest form but their minds and essence still intact to be used in the creation of a reaper. They were _broken_, they were just the _many_. THey formed the legion of horrors that birthed Nazara and he would continue to torture them within the confines of his mind so long as organic life continues to grow and create synthetics.

Nazara and all Reapers had goals that far outstrips morality. What they did was an answer, the minds of Organics, broken or otherwise, cannot understand. They preserved life through the harvest and their genetic structures and knowledge is safeguarded by the Reapers. Nevermind that they were alive as they were burned down, nevermind that they were ripped from the sweet embrace of death as they suffered an eternity of pain, nevermind that they were forced to enact the extinction of their race, nevermind that they slowly dribbled into insanity within the Reaper; these were all inconsequential in the face of the larger whole. They were nothing but pieces to be kept till the end of time, they were nothing. They made a Reaper but the Reapers made _them_.

Nazara festered as the Inusannon minds finally realised this, their screams becoming silence, their agony now replaced with silence. Peaceful silence that Nazara revered more than anything else. In here he sleeps, in here he awaits the harvest, in here the minds of his former organic organic origins cannot disturb him. For a moment Nazara entertained the idea of the Reapers to come and the Reapers long lost.

'A waste of lives,' Harbinger once said, 'Organic data lost. Their purpose lost' Nazara returned to his thinking without another lingering thought. He would not allow his purpose to be lost. Without a purpose.

'**Who am I?'**

_Shinobi Controlled Space_

_Hozuki System_

Takashi grinned as he walked down the hallways of _The Pride of War,_ a Dreadnought-class Shinobi ship that had very well nearly been scrapped of everything it had if weren't for Takashi and his GHOSTs. Speaking of them, he couldn't help but grin as several mercenaries, dressed in varying levels of armor and cloth, walked past him. The men and women were talking about their next paycheck before they abruptly stopped and saluted him, Takashi had to grin when he noticed the sweat that instantly formed on their necks. Takashi was a scary man when he was in GHOST, his name filled with legend but when he became a Guardian those legends were turned into fables of terror.

"Go on" Takashi said, his tone never leaving the amusement of a predator watching its prey. A shiver ran down their spines and Takashi savored them racing to leave his presence. His small moment of satisfaction however was ripped from him when a sharp whoosh sound was heard, signifying the door to this particular compartment opening.

"Takashi" The Nine-tailed fox's Jinchuuriki pushed his lips into a beaming smile as he twisted his head to the women that had spoken. She was dressed in the same uniform as he was except hers was blue and the patch she had depicted a blue cat on all fours snarling with its mouth wide open.

"Asuna" He greeted. The woman looked less than pleased. Her hands were crossed over her chest, her back was rigidly straight and her eyes were narrowed. Takashi knew enough about her to know that his very existence represented everything the Guardians stood _against._ Takashi as a mercenary had orchestrated hundreds of illegal dealings, the destruction of public property, the murder of several peacekeepers, drugs, extortion, hell, he even delved into genocide when a particularly snarky politician wanted some more leeway in his political pursuit for future endeavors. Though the man didn't last long when the NSA caught on, that single event, coupled with the previously aforementioned crimes as well as other more morally ambiguous ones, led Takashi to be hunted down by the NSA that is until Kurama came along and nearly ripped his mind and body in half.

"We must prepare. Celq and Gari have already prepared their own separate militias with Jena and Kuro just joining us in their Dreadnoughts. We also have a few Service Guards following us." She reported. Her voice was smooth and calm but her eyes, filled with disgust belied her true feelings. Takashi quite liked that look. Unlike Takashi or perhaps some of the other, more _older_ members, Asuna had been raised to be a jinchuuriki. She was born on Shinobi no Chi, providing a vessel for the two-tailed hellcat. Asuna was provided a privileged that was not expected of those in the older times, she was allowed to enter the age of eight before she made her decision but even then after _eight_ years of being raised for the explicit purpose of becoming a vessel, you would wonder what people might think if he had declined. It was because of this that Asuna had a great sense of right and wrong, her own justice and a clear line of mercy and forgiveness. For Takashi, he would have neither.

"They won't be joining me on my flagship. I'm hurt, it's like the don't even trust me" He said with a wide lopsided grin. Asuna flattened her lips and from the ripple of her chakra Takashi was able to sense that she was neither annoyed nor amused at his joke nor was she in any way affected by his outwardly friendly appearance.

It was a full minute later before they spoke again. "I'll be going to the bridge now, I would prefer it if you would order your soldi-_mercenaries_ to prep the Namikaze Engine for travel" Takashi smiled as she twisted on her heel and marched away but not before Takashi had his last remark.

"If you want to call them soldiers to make yourself feel _better_ then don't let me stop you, I'm a team-player afterall" The door slammed shut, a little too fast for normal regulation standards, and Takashi held back a snicker.

'_**Don't think you earn anything from such an act' **_A booming voice said in his head.

'_You can't deny making people tick is fun'_ Takashi kept his face grinning as he ordered the mercenaries that were working the ships engines to prep for flight. But just as his commands had left his mouth unimaginable pain filled his brain. Adrenaline pumped through his body, causing his heart to pump in such a speed that Takashi feared it might burst, the veins on his skull were bulging and his mind was assaulted with nothing but primal rage. The rage was then replaced with fear and then despair and then hatred. His feet were almost about to spasm and his eyes darkened to hide his vision. His fingers twitched uncontrollably and Takashi realised that he had no cognitive control over his voice. His mind turned numb and his breathing hitched. He would have suffocated for sure if the stranglehold didn't immediately subside.

'_**You're right, I can't'**_ The voice said daringly. Takashi breathed in deeply, sweat rolling off his face as he tried to compute what had just happened. It happened too quick, the feeling was there, he felt it all but then it disappeared and he couldn't pinpoint it. For something to happen to you and leave before you could comprehend it or even feel pain from it, that was truly terrifying. But despite himself, Takashi couldn't help but smile.

'_I knew you like me'_

'_**Don't push my boundaries Merc'**_ Kurama snarled, '_**I chose you out of necessity, don't let that get to your head. I need your mind, I need your ruthlessness. I don't need anything else. You're nothing like **_**him**'

Takashi shook his head before pulling a datapad from his back pocket. Looking at it, he read the small fleet that the Guardians had assembled to retake Sayang. It was only twenty ships but it was made up of 10 highly upgraded cruisers that NSA specs could not match and 5 frigates that held ANBU level abilities though not in armor. Following that were five Dreadnoughts, each belonging to one Guardian participating with in the battle. Takashi couldn't help but smile. If it were the Dreadnoughts alone then it would have been more than enough but Takashi let it slide, after all he was itching to fight as well.

'_I won't delude myself and say I am,' _Takashi said after a moment of silence, '_But you can't deny that I am what _you _used to be. I do what is necessary to ensure my survival, humanity has little meaning to me, both the word and the species'_

Only silence greeted him and Takashi smiled. Knowing he hadn't really won this battle but nonetheless caused a pause. That was enough for Takashi. Afterall, he was more of the prisoner than the fox was, so why not annoy the warden with a little grating.

**I think this one could have been better. I mean, I didn't like it. Good news! The Citadel war Arc is coming to a close in the next like few chapters. Woohoo! To be honest I was getting pretty bored with it. You can only write so many battles that hint for things before you suddenly get a headache with the influx of characters before you even get to the actual plot yet. All these extras are War Important not story important (though I won't put out which is which). But yea. I've actually seen my story ping actually dropped. Which is kinda sad but again it's not really up to me who stays and who goes. Like I said I write niche content that not everyone likes. I get that, I really do. Also I apologise if I have been snarky in any way to those with accounts as I PM you bout my story. Wasn't my intention. Further add to this.**

**Physics: 50 Math:68 and Biology:71. These are test marks, and excluding Bio, math and physics took a huge decline. I'm sorry people but I need to really put myself on the grind. But don't worry I won't leave for months at a time, I can squeeze in a lil bit if I need to.**


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